Les Liaisons Dangereux
by Femme Bono
Summary: A French Auror is cursed by Bella; only Snape can help. Warnings: AU-no horcruxes, Lemons, Limes, Mind Control, slightly N/C, some Violence, a little PWP.
1. Chapter 1

_Dear reader, once again I ask you to suspend what you know about the series from the battle at the Ministry on. I gave Sirius a reprieve--not that I liked him overmuch, but there you are. I also have a tendency to want to put most of the work in the hands of the adults, and no offense to anyone but I found everything from the horcruxes beyond kind of a cop-out. Granted, one should not preface her work, but should you get confused, you've been warned. It's just about all up in the air at this point. Rowling killed my favorite character, ergo I fart in her general direction._

_Oh, and if anyone wants to help with the French, mercy buckets._

**Un dsire dangereux**

I. Un crime de la passion

_"Cupo_!" shouted the deranged witch. Vivienne was caught in the back, hurled to the ground by the force of the blow. Kingsley, turning back and wrenching her up by the arm, spun quickly on the spot apparating them both away as their assailants bore down on them, firing hexes and curses as they came. Feeling as though she had been sucked through a vacuum only to be spat out again in some dodgy London suburb, Vivienne wrinkled her nose as she looked around. All of the walk-ups she saw looked distinctly rundown. Even the cars were junk heaps.

"What are we doing here?" she said, casting a sidelong glance at Shacklebolt as he stopped midway down the street between numbers 11 and 13. "We should be heading back to the Ministry, should we not? Or better yet, St. Mungo's? I'm sure that hex Lestrange blasted at me hit me solid in the back, and I do not wish to find out here what it does."

"The problem with us going back there, Dulac, is that I have never heard that curse before in all my years as Auror. I doubt they will know what to do with you at St. Mungo's, and the Ministry itself may well be compromised. Someone had to have told them we would be there. They apparated straight in and started firing. Now read this quietly and memorize it."

He handed her a torn piece of parchment, which she read silently to herself while he looked around to make sure no one was about. Just as she finished, it promptly erupted into flames in her hand causing her to drop it. In a trice, it was nothing but ash.

"So we do what now?" she said as the buildings before her suddenly popped apart, revealing yet another dingy townhouse.

"We go in," he said, leading the way up the front stoop.

Upon entering what was clearly a dark wizard's old musty domicile, Vivienne's first thought was that it looked every bit as bad as it had from the outside. Her second was that Shacklebolt must have been confunded. Yet even as she wondered at this supposed refuge, she gasped at the magenta-haired witch who exited a room down the hall and nearly knocked over the hat rack in her haste to greet them.

"Wotcher!" she said, trying to right the stand again.

"_La_! Tonks!" Vivienne cried, rushing to clasp hands with her friend. "You would not believe what happened on assignment! I've been hit with something." She turned, meeting Kingsley's eyes as he nodded over her head to Tonks, affirming the news.

"I've never heard it before and wanted to check with Albus and possibly Snape. "

"They're neither one of them here yet, but they're expected any minute. The meeting's at seven, and Molly is cooking again. Are you alright there, Viv?"

"Yes, so far. It's really strange. I felt the blow so strongly it knocked the breath out of me. I hit the ground _de force_; it was hard."

"Let's get you a cuppa then and sit you down while we wait. What was the spell?"

"She said '_cupo_', but as Vivienne says, there doesn't seem to be anything outwardly wrong." The two spared her a worried glance as they made their way down the hall to a kitchen, where a red-haired witch was bustling around the stove, banging pots and muttering under her breath, "apparating down for meals as though they lost the use of their legs..."

"Hullo, Molly, we've got two more just come 'round," said Tonks, who stepped up to the stove. "You want any help there?"

"Oh no!" said, Molly clutching a bowl of potatoes to her bosom as if afraid Tonks would try to take it. "No, thank you, Dora. Better if you just sit."

Turning to Vivienne, "hello there, dear, won't you come in and have a seat?"

"Thank you, Molly, was it? I mean no intrusion--"

"Pish tosh! We'll have none of that. You're very welcome here," she said smiling and ushering them to a table. "Hello Kingsley, you're early."

"Molly," he said, clasping hands with her. "We had a bit of a run-in with some Death Eaters on our assignment. I'd like to run through it once when everyone gets here, but we've just arrived from the location we were observing straight away."

"Of course, of course." And with that, she ushered them both to a seat and put on the kettle.

***

It was not many minutes thereafter that the fire in the grate turned a poison green as two wizards stepped through. One, decidedly older had a serene smile playing above a long flowing beard the same silver as his buckled shoes. The second, looking quite more put upon, had a pallid complexion contrasted against the darkest obsidian eyes she had ever seen and lank, oily black hair. "_Oh, il est extrmement peu attrayant,"_ she thought. "_Est-ce qu'l fait la douche_?" And yet strangely, upon sight of him her stomach fluttered, and she was sure had she not already been sitting, she her knees would have given way. "_Qu'est-ce qui ce passe_?" Before she could wonder overmuch as her reaction to the strange man, the old wizard raised his arms to hug Molly.

"Molly, I thank you for the hard work it takes to feed such an army. Once again it looks as though you have outdone yourself." He gestured to the pots simmering and bubbling on the stove.

"Oh go on, Albus," she blushed, shooing him away.

"Molly," said the other wizard, acknowledging her with a single nod. "_Un poisson sang froid_," she reasoned watching the display, "and we French are supposed to be snobs."

"Hello, Severus. Both of you come in, sit. Arthur says he will be late and supper with still be a while yet, so what news you have go on with it. We'll catch him up. There's time."

At that point, Kingsley seized his opportunity to introduce Vivienne and relate what had happened to them near Downing Street. Mr. Dumbledore, Albus as he said he preferred to be called, nodded as though he was aware that they were posted to tail the Muggle prime minister. He looked graver yet when he heard that though the prime minister did not appear to be home, the two Aurors were ambushed by no less than six _Mangemorts_, Death Eaters, as they called them. It was not until Kingsley mentioned the Bella witch's curse that the dark wizard Severus spoke up, his eyes flashing with what she thought might be recognition.

"What did you say was the spell?" he questioned in measured tones that shot a reaction straight to her loins. As she felt the rush from it, so too did a searing pain shoot up her left arm as he spoke. Gasping, she stood straight up clutching at her forearm and yanking up her sleeve. Uttering a shocked cry, she asked in a strangled voice, "_qu'est-ce que c'est_?" before realizing she had spoken in French. "What is it?" she repeated frantically.

As Kingsley and Albus craned their necks to see the image that had imprinted itself onto her flesh, Severus skirted the table, quickly snatching her wrist and holding it up close. "Good God," was his only remark. There, indelibly etched from her wrist to the crook of her elbow was a replica of the Dark Mark. Lining the side of it, also in black, was the phrase, "property of."

"What does it mean?" she asked him, her voice shaking with shock and revulsion.

"It means, to put it succinctly, that you have been branded as a slave."

_ *il est extrmement peu attrayant = he is extremely unattractive  
Est-ce qu'l fait la douche = Does he shower?  
Qu'est-ce qui ce passe? = What's happening?  
Un poisson sang froid = a cold-blooded fish_


	2. Chapter 2

II. Un dsire tacite

"How do you mean?" she asked, trying to grasp the full ramification of what he had said.

"In short," he said, lowering his voice as if the others in the room could not hear. "Your will is no longer your own in regard to...sexual matters."

A spoon clattered the floor as Molly whirled, looking aghast at Severus. Kingsley coughed uncomfortably while Albus lowered his eyes and shook his head. Tonks appeared to be at a complete loss. Vivienne felt a lurch deep in her core at his words, as if her own body concurred with his statement.

"_Quoi_! What are you saying?" she said, when she recovered. She looked into his glittering dark eyes as if hoping any moment he would laugh and admit he was having her on. Yet he remained stone-faced, apparently unperturbed at her discomfiture.

"Perhaps we should continue this elsewhere. You may find it distinctly uncomfortable having anyone else hear what I have to say."

"I am already uncomfortable," she said, her face flaming. "How do you know this is so?"

"Because I am one of them," he said simply.

"_Alors_! Then how are you here? Why would you be allowed--"

"Because I am a spy," he spat, growing impatient. "Now trust me, you do not want me to continue until we are somewhere quite alone. I can assure you the full import of this curse goes much deeper than you would care to talk about here."

"Whatever it is I can handle it," she said, tossing auburn locks over her shoulder and jutting her chin. "Besides, should this happen to anyone else we will need to know how to help."

"Very well," he answered derisively. "Unfortunately for you, mademoiselle, any desire you feel whatsoever will have to be sated by a known Death Eater. It cannot be slaked by anyone else, much less yourself should you attempt to avoid the main premise of the curse, which is that you be forced to copulate with one of the Dark Lord's many servants. It does not matter who you desire or how small the urge is that crosses your mind. Once its seed takes root it will grow exponentially until you must find release. Moreover, your need will only be met when you have give release to the one you are with. Worse yet, should you be anywhere near a Death Eater who so much as entertains the passing thought of sex, you will find yourself driven as well."

"What is the countercurse then? How is it removed?" her voice shook as she took a step back.

"There is not one. Should any of the Ministry discover its use, it will sure take its place in history as yet another Unforgivable. It is one of Bella's specialties, a surprise considering she is a woman herself and has no qualms about using it against other women. Sadly, most of those whom are affecting by it are killed before its effects are ever expunged. For the ones who have not, it appears to last for a year and a day before the charm, so to speak, wears off."

"And if I refuse to give in to these...urges?" she replied archly, an eyebrow raising at the barbarism implied in such a curse.

"Should you refuse you would die," he said flatly. As she began sputtering indignantly that she would much rather die, he continued, "Essentially your blood vessels would continually expand, flooding the walls of your...reproductive channels to the point that they burst. In short, you would hemorrhage."

"So I am damned to be raped continually by Death Eaters?" she said, already shaking uncontrollably at the thought. "But how would I even know there is one around? If I get aroused by some foreign fantasy that just flits through my mind that I know is not mine? I would not have known you were if you had not told me. They tend to not announce it to the world."

"Actually, that mark appearing when I spoke should have been your first clue," he said, cocking his head to the side as if sizing her up. "From here on, if it burns or twinges you know you are near one. The closer they get," he said, stepping forward to illustrate its power as her arm gave an involuntary spasm. "the more you'll feel it."

Feel it she did, Vivienne considered, already she was wet at this horrible man who showed no sympathy for her utter humiliation. Driven to ask the question, purely from a desire for self-preservation, she asked as she looked down, "what if I'm nowhere near one when the desire takes hold?"

"You'll feel yourself being led to one. And I feel I should warn you, once any Death Eater realizes you've been cursed so, he will only prolong the torture by removing himself before he releases. It must be inside you or you will not find your own release and the symptoms will continue."

"What symptoms?" she asked, truly not wanting to know.

"Flushed skin at first, weakness...throbbing in the nether regions," he paused, as if expecting her to tell him to stop, but she met his gaze defiantly. "If not caught in time, they give way to fever, tremors, and eventually death within several hours. It builds strongly and quickly, only abating upon the Death Eater's ejaculation."

"_Ah_, _merde_! It's barbaric!" she cried, her voice breaking at last. Pressing a hand to her stomach she ran from the room.

She crossed the hall into what appeared to be a sitting room. The furniture was draped with sheets as though no one had been in residence for years, and there was a thick coating of dust over the cabinets and tables. Vivienne sat, her chest still heaving, feeling as though a heavy ball sat in the pit of her stomach. And knowing that her body had already betrayed her, she also felt a keen yearning for the dispassionate man who had outlined the details of her fate as though reading off a shopping list. For a few minutes she sat, willing herself to calm. A few deep breaths later, her nerves were somewhat less jittery. However, the thought of this man, a known Death Eater, being the only one who could give her release had her very thighs tensing. She all but groaned at the thought of him between them as she felt the tell-tale flush creep up from her neck to her hairline. God help me, she thought, it's started already.


	3. Chapter 3

III. Une rencontre, avant le dner

For the first time, the truth of what she faced hit home. Unable to deny the feelings rushing through her system even as she sat, Vivienne buried her face in her hands with a sob, only to glance up again as the door opened. She felt an uneasy jolt that was not all unpleasant as Severus entered, closing the door and leaning against it. Using her wand to conjure a handkerchief, Vivienne dabbed at her face and wondered why the settee on which she was sitting could not simply swallow her up so she did not have to face him. At least his face did register some degree of sympathy finally, she acknowledged.

"I'm sorry," she managed, her throat still aching with tears as she felt the flush creeping back.

"As am I, if I seemed unfeeling. It was not my intention. It is a hard thing to relate to someone you know, much less someone you've only just met," he said slowly. "However, Dumbledore has suggested a solution, should you prefer it."

"I thought you said there was no solution."

"Forgive me, it is not an escape altogether so much as...an arrangement."

Vivienne felt her legs go weak again as she began to grasp his intention and thanked all that was holy that she was still sitting. She could not restrain herself from shuddering, which did not escape his notice, and opened her mouth to say something, only to find she could not. Severus had seen the recognition in her eyes of what he was suggesting, and took the shudder to mean that she found him repulsive. Nevertheless, he continued as he had been urged to do.

"The Ministry has found it necessary to provide Hogwarts with the protection of Aurors about the castle this year. He feels it would help you if we were to suggest Dawlish's replacement with you instead. Dawlish should find no problem with this, as he is loathe to be in the company of Dumbledore or anywhere near range for that matter."

"Yes, I know. I heard about Dumbledore's escape," she said with a laughing at little at the memory of the image it evoked.

Finding encouragement in this, Severus nodded before adding, "as such it would put you in close proximity to myself." His gaze dropped from hers as he pressed on. "Were you to need my...assistance in any case, you would need only ask. I would be willing to avail myself to you, as well as the use of my quarters for any assignations as you require."

"An-and you agree with his suggestion?" she asked meekly, already starting to shake a bit. _Sacr mre_, she thought.

"I am well aware that I am not the most desirable man for any courtship," he conceded, "but for this situation, I do feel that you may prefer me to other more...unsavory options. Knowing who else you have to choose from and how abhorrently they would abuse you, I think I am undoubtedly the safest for you. I have seen what they are capable of, and I would not wish it on one such as yourself."

She gave a small nod, but could not help but think it sounded as though they were arranging a business meeting. It shamed her on some level to think of having sex completely devoid of any emotion at all. Any of her lovers had been people she esteemed and liked at the very least. And yet, watching this by no means handsome man, she felt strangely allured and wondered what it would be like to have his weight on hers. He had rather large hands, and such sharp angles and planes on his face. She ached already to reach out and touch it, and barely restrained herself.

Severus, meanwhile, thinking that the interview was over, rose to leave. He turned back at her strangled cry, only to see her staring, her sapphire eyes deep and dark. He felt his member give a throb as he took in her heaving breast and full, parted lips. Her breath hitched as she started to speak, "please...I--" but she could not find the words. She rose, shakily, as he crossed to her, completely baffled and not suspecting that she was already feeling the urge to pull him down on top of her and satiate the need that rocked her to her core. She clutched at his frock coat, sliding her fingers through a gap between the buttons and hanging onto the hem. "With all this talk of...this curse..." she began again, before trailing off.

He reached up, grasping her upper arms. Taking in her pleading eyes and the flush of her cheeks, the dawning realization had his jaw dropping. "I see," was his only reply as his hands slid to her waist, eliciting a moan from her lips, before he lowered his mouth to hers. Instantly she arched into him, her breasts straining through the fabric of her robes as she leaned up, leaned into him. Now fully aroused, Severus flicked a wand behind him at the door, locking and casting a silencing charm to buffer any noises from escaping. Sliding his hands down to her hips, he backed her up against the settee causing her knees to buckle as she dropped back onto it. Knowing she needed release quickly, he wasted no time in laying her flat against the cushions and hiking her robes up around her waist. As he continued to devour her mouth with his, he slid her panties aside to help moisten her up first, only to find that she was already wet and straining against his hand. She reached up, frantically pulling against his belt, finally unbuckling it and fumbling with the buttons on his trousers as he yanked her underwear off and let it fall to the floor.

Finally freed of all encumbrances, he filled her in one stroke as she arched again, moaning and spreading her legs wider, propping one over the back of the settee to accommodate him as he leaned in, thrusting deeper. Sliding his arms under her back and cupping her shoulders, he ground in. Slowly stroking, he pushed deep, swiveling his hips against hers, causing her to cry out for more. "Harder, yes! _Merde_!" she screamed as she began thrusting against him, matching him beat for beat as he pushed into her, aching for more himself. He stayed deep inside her, the base of his shaft jutting up against her clit as he quickened the pace, already straining for release. Pulling on her shoulders for leverage, pounding all the way into her core, he felt the tightening in his sac as her muscles clenched around his shaft. He leaned further over her, never slowing from the rapid fire they were building in their loins, plunging his tongue into her open and gasping mouth, he claimed her, while she clung for dear life as the fire exploded in a blinding climax that set them both flying. He felt his seed shoot into her and heard her own cry of release as her muscles spasmed under and around him, before he fell against her, spent.

Easing himself out of her, he lay for a moment as her legs came around him, holding him there. It was a minute before either of them spoke, but a new question had presented itself to Vivienne.

"How do I keep this from my mind?" she wondered aloud. "Now that I have had sex, I will surely be thinking of this encounter...even now I cannot keep it from my mind--"

"Ah, yes," he said, lifting off of her and beginning to put himself back to rights. "In the first, you do have a reprieve in that the curse loosens its hold on you for some time after your release. Usually by being satiated, other things tend to push themselves to the forefront of your mind and take precedence. It is the desire for sex which calls the curse upon you, not so a flitting thought across your mind or a simple memory. You have to want, and once that wanting takes hold--whether it is truly yours or a Death Eater's--it must be expunged."

"I see," she said, feeling only somewhat better. At least she was not at the mercy of every creeping thought. Yet she still could not figure out the desire she felt. He made no mention of it _causing_ desire for someone, only that desire set it off. Unsure of how to broach the subject, she left off for the time being until they could truly be alone and not just across the hall from so many people. As he lowered the enchantments, she could hear many more voices than there were before. Picking her panties up from the floor and casting a quick cleansing charm, she fixed herself as best she could using a dusty mirror behind the settee and followed Severus out the door to the kitchen again without another word.

*Une rencontre, avant le dner = an encounter, before dinner  
Sacr mre = Holy mother


	4. Chapter 4

IV. A French twist

"You silly bisexual bint," Snape snarled, with barely a touch of admiration. "What in the world did you mean by casting the Cupere curse against an Auror?" Two days later he was standing in Malfoy's library, a vague look of smug satisfaction flitting across his features, knowing full well why she had cast the curse and intensely amused that it was not she who got to reap the satisfaction from it. He watched her fight a quick war between jealousy and curiosity, as she fisted hands on her hips and attempted a look of indignation.

"What makes you think I would do such a thing?" she tossed her head. "And watch your mouth."

"Because when Shacklebolt brought her to the Headquarters, it was you she described and named. You expect an Auror not to recognize your demented visage? Besides, you are the one who taught us all." He raised an eyebrow at the playful smirk on her lips that lit up her face in a maniacal gleam.

"She was meant for Rodolphus and I. Rodolphus loves red-heads...as much as you, so I've heard," she replied with a saucy wink that nearly had him snarling. Her fingertips drifted to her dcolletage. "And French accents make my knees weak. Now...she should have activated when she met you...so my question is, did you get to sample the little tartlet? How was she?"

Knowing she would hardly get a chance to find out, Snape's desire to brag overrode his selfishness. He leaned into Bella's ear, whispering lasciviously, "exquisite," before smirking as he swept towards the door leaving her now openly sputtering and fuming. Stopping at the door, he looked back grinning widely now at his good fortune. "And she's now stationed at Hogwarts so that I can....ever so generously...offer my services to keep her from much more reprehensible villains. I suppose I should thank you for that." Smirking still, he closed the door behind him just in time as he heard something shatter against the door. Clearly, the witch's temper had not improved in all those years in Azkaban.

***

Meanwhile, completely unaware that she was the subject of discussion at Voldemort's new camp, Vivienne followed Dumbledore down through the dungeons. Having been at Hogwarts only a week, she was thankful that any sexual urges were still at bay owing to her focus being on the task at hand. At this point she had traded off with Tonks for the day, the latter having taken up the post at Hogsmeade while Vivienne herself transferred into the castle proper in order to meet the newest professor, Horace Slughorn. She was also under orders to search his office, quarters, and classroom thoroughly to ensure he had not been Imperiused, tricked into bringing in any dark objects, or worse yet, willingly operating under any orders from Lord Voldemort or his followers.

As she followed the old wizard into what appeared to be the potions classroom, she spied a paunchy goat of a man on the dais at the front of the room. On three of the tables sat cauldrons bubbling away. In passing one, she caught a distinct smell that had her stopping, riveted beside it. Dumbledore, sensing she was no longer following, turned to find her sniffing the air interestedly.

"Does Professor Snape still brew potions down here as well?" she asked pointedly, if a little dazed.

"Why no," Dumbledore said. "I believe if he does it is still in his office down here. Horace has taken the office and quarters upstairs that are normally reserved for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Severus preferred to keep his rooms in the dungeon, and Horace was agreeable to the swap. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Vivienne wrenched herself away from the simmering concoction, having realized what she was smelling. It smelled of him, she recalled, that musky smell that was purely male, yet tinged with traces of chocolate and sandalwood. Having recognized the characteristic spirals common with Amortentia, however, she knew that she would rather die than admit to the two men standing there that she associated his personal scent with such a potent love potion. _Mon dieu_, she thought, _qu'est-ce que la signification_? Turning her attention to the outstretched hand of the seemingly pompous new potions master, she allowed herself to be flattered and returned the mild flirtation before setting about on a thorough search of his personal effects.

When she later entered Dumbledore's office to report her findings, she sat down in a huff. As she worked, her mind had returned time and again to the fact that she had felt some desire for the dark wizard Snape, that he had not mentioned this as an effect of the curse, and her own intuition that there were no curses that did not have some type of reversal. The only exception to that rule was the Killing Curse itself. There had to be something he was not telling her, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. As it concerned her, she felt it only right that she have full disclosure on everything that the curse entailed. Since Snape was not forthcoming, she went to the next likely person. Kingsley himself had thought Dumbledore may have information, so here she sat.

"Did everything go well?" he asked.

"Yes, fine. There was nothing untoward in his possession," she said distractedly.

"So that's that then," he reasoned, looking over his spectacles questioningly. "Is it?"

"Actually I wanted to ask if there was anything that this Severus did not tell me about _la_ Cupere. I know how it works, but he said there is no countercurse or way to break it," she said, folding her hands in her lap. "Is that true?"

"Not exactly," he said, wondering how to put the news delicately. "There is a way to counterbalance it, yet it is most unlikely, which is why Severus neglected to mention it."

_Zut!_ she thought, clutching at the arms of the chair. "I knew it! What has he not told me? I want to know all. It is my life, is it not? My body. What is the cure for this then?"

"Love," he said simply. Vivienne nearly laughed. She had heard the old man favored this answer for most things. Seeing her discomposure, he continued, "love breaks all bonds, Ms. Dulac. It can even conquer death at times. In this case, were you to find yourself in love with a Death Eater you would, in a word, become immune to the effects. The spell, as in a fairy tale, would be broken, as love would act as a near mirror image to the curse. You would desire no one else, nor be in tuned to the desires of anyone else. Yet there again, it would still have to be a Death Eater who sets you free instead of keeping you enslaved."

"Who in the world could love a Death Eater?" she said coldly.

"Who indeed?"

"That puts me no better off than I was before. What else has he not mentioned? What about dictating who I desire?"

"As to that, the curse has no binding to cause you to desire a particular person. It simply is that whatever your desire is, whoever it is for, must be met by a Death Eater."

Vivienne stifled the urge to scream. Barely.

"Are you certain?" she said, now fisting her hands in her lap.

"Yes," he replied, "Severus has never mentioned that as a stipulation or even a side effect."

"Yet there seems to be much he does not mention." At the end of her tether, Vivienne rose to go to the quarters she had been provided. "Thank you regardless. I don't suppose if he does happen to mention anything else you might tell me?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for that then."

And with that, she strode out the door, her cape flying in what she would be loathe to discover was remarkably like Severus himself.

Mon dieu = my god  
Qu'est-cue que la signification? = What is the significance?  
Zut! = Crap!


	5. Chapter 5

_Well, friends, it's a short chapter but hopefully well worth it, and here I think I can confess another inspiration for this was a short story by Anas Nin. I won't tell you why or which story just yet though... ;)_

V. Learning curves

Within days it would be time for the start of the school term. Tonks, who was stationed in Hogsmeade, would be meeting the train and ensuring a safe arrival for the students. Vivienne, meanwhile, was securing the corridors and dormitories of the castle. As she passed the staff room on her final walk-through of the day, she heard the honeyed tones of none other than the man who had been on her mind since her meeting with Dumbledore. She had known he was back and had managed to somehow avoid him, having conducted her search of his rooms while he was sequestered with Dumbledore on one of their many meetings. Hearing his voice again, knowing he was so near, brought every image of their last encounter crashing back. Erotic visions and senses clouded her mind as she walked briskly back to the safety of her quarters. The rough texture of his calloused hands on her hips as he gyrated, pounding against her soft flesh; the bruising, possessive kisses that burned, branding her as his. She touched quivering fingers to her lips as she made her way across her sitting room and bedroom into her private bath. Turning the taps on the glistening tub, she disrobed, letting her hands linger and slide over her body as she went, making the very act of undressing an attempt at seduction over her own body. Surely, she thought, if he neglected to mention such things as a cure for the curse he may have been lying about this as well. She fully intended to help herself out of this predicament before she ever subjected to him again.

As she slid into the warm water, her hands continued to glide over her skin, trying to elicit the same sensations he had. She cupped a hand under the swell of her breast, lightly pinching the nipple, swirling a fingertip around it as she pictured his lips just there. Another hand trailed up the inside of her leg, swirling around the dark auburn curls before entering, ever so lightly and pulsing against her inner wall as her thumb found her clitoris. Moaning aloud she tried to recreate the feeling of having his swollen shaft driving in, filling her. For several long minutes she teased and caressed herself, only to find that though the ache increased she was unable to climax. The dull twinge accompanying her literal lack of fulfillment caused her no small amount of disquiet. Finally resigned to seek out his assistance, Vivienne rose out of the bath on legs that seemed to have turned to jelly and without even draining the water, she snatched her robed off the wall peg and made her way into the bedroom fireplace. She Flooed directly to Severus' quarters, praying he would be alone and present.

Vivienne exited the fireplace to find him sitting in a leather armchair looking aghast at what he obviously considered an imposition. With a glass of firewhiskey in one hand and the Evening Prophet in the other, he had been clearly intent on a quiet evening. This intention was neatly shattered as she stepped forward, dropped her robe to the floor and stood before him, already shaking with need, her nipples taut in the chilly damp of the dungeons. "Bloody hell woman! I have...lessons to plan," he finished lamely.

"It does not look as though you are _hard_ at work," she stressed, glancing at his already stiffening erection, "on lessons at least." She stepped right up to his chair and straddled his lap as he dropped his feet from the ottoman in front of him. "I need you again," she said. Careful not to point out that this was already quite obvious, Snape gripped her hips pulling her closer against his now throbbing member and groaned aloud as she arched her back, lifting her bare breasts to his mouth. Sliding his hands up her back, he pulled her further into his mouth, clamping over her and taking in as much as he could as he swirled his tongue over a delicate pink nipple. "Ah!" she sighed, raking her fingers through his hair as she noted he had indeed bathed since their last rendezvous. When at last he removed his mouth from her breast, he trailed hot kisses up her neck to her jaw line before again claiming her mouth with his own. Nibbling her lips as though they were a delectable sweet, he brought his hands around to cup her breasts, massaging them as he ground his hips into hers. Sweeping her hands over his shoulders and down his chest, she wrenched at his shirt, rending the fabric from the buttons as she flexed her fingers, stroking through the light smattering of hair that covered him. She flicked her thumbs across his hardened nipples, eliciting a shocked moan from his lips as she traveled ever lower to the waist of his pants, only to continue over the large bulge now protruding prominently.

She stroked him once, bringing her hand further under to cup him as he bucked and groaned loudly. "Oh by the gods, yes!" he gripped her wrist and wrenched it off, hurriedly unfastening his trousers and freeing himself. She brought her hand back down onto his swollen penis, gripping it firmly as he writhed under her, stroking it once more before she lowered herself onto him. Again he clamped his hands onto her hips and started pumping, filling her again and again as she began rising and falling over his thick organ, her breasts bouncing rhythmically as he beat into her warm wetness. Feeling her need rising with their coupling, Vivienne fisted her hands in his hair as she pistoned her hips, grinding faster and faster against him as their breaths quickened. "Oh god, yes," he rasped, "I need..." He trailed off as their bodies contracted around each other, pushing them ever closer to that razor edge. He lowered his mouth again to her breast, cupping her bottom as he thrust harder until she cried out, her body shuddering in orgasm when he finally pushed them both over into the depths of the abyss as pearls of semen leaked from around her swollen lips, mingling with her own juices. As their hearts hammered against their chests, they looked into each other's eyes, midnight black to summer blue, and met in another kiss, this time much slower and savoring as she tasted the firewhiskey on his tongue.

"Thank you," she said, licking her lips. Instead of rising off him, Vivienne leaned forward and brushed her breasts against his. "But...I do not think I am quite finished for the evening."

Saying nothing, Snape released his bruising grip and slid his hands up her back, pulling her against him as he rose. She linked her legs around his waist as he made his way over to a four-poster bed with emerald green hangings and sat her down on top of it.

"Then perhaps you had better stay here," he replied.


	6. Chapter 6

VI. La belle dame sans merci

The mattress creaked noisily under their combined weight before Severus rose again, sliding his arms out of the torn shirt and stepping out of his open trousers. Taking her by the hips, he slid Vivienne up to the pillows before covering her body with his, tongues sliding around each other, teeth nibbling as he traced his mouth to the sensitive curve of her neck before lowering his hot mouth between her breasts. Before he could continue his assault, she bucked her hips in a defensive move she learned in Auror training, throwing him off balance enough to flip their positions as she began her own torturous descent down his body with her mouth.

"If you'd wanted to trade," he said breathlessly, "you need only have asked."

She smiled and continued working on exploring his scarred sinewy chest. Flicking her tongue over his nipple, she nipped it lightly as she pinched the other one before trailing her hands down to his hips. His hands came up to her hair, clutching at her as she lowered herself, swirling her tongue and laving it in his belly button, sliding it down to the darker curls as his member twitched against her throat in a bawdy salute. She raked her fingernails up his thighs, contrasting the sensation with soft kisses on his shaft as he groaned and cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer against him. Exhaling as she took all of him into her, Vivienne relaxed her throat muscles and moaned over him. Now writhing fully he began bucking against her, a small taste of salty semen dripping from the tip as she began sliding her mouth up and down. Dipping her hand back to cup his balls, she felt behind the sac and began pulsing the spot as she sucked harder while he thrust into her mouth, groaning and writhing as he tensed, crying out as he shot into her wet willing mouth. She swallowed the tart taste of him as he pulled her up, rolling her over and taking her into another simmering kiss.

His hands then mirrored her gesture, raking up her thighs and connecting right at her center as he thrust two fingers into her opening, sliding them in and out and around her folds. Lazily, he swirled his thumb over her still swollen nub, pulsing inside her as his other hand massaged her breast, tweaking her nipple as she bowed up, straining against his hands and overwhelmed with the sensations he was causing all over her body. Her knees pulled up, her legs spread wantonly, she bucked again and again thrusting against his skilled fingers, his thumb now pulsating against her clit as she moaned, clutching at him and clawing nails down his back, she came with a scream and fell back spent, unbearably aroused still as she watched him suck the juices from his fingers before leaning in to kiss her, knowing this night was far from over.

***

She woke the next morning as she rolled over and felt a man's bare chest under her palm. Having forgotten where she was, her eyes snapped open to see him gazing at her intently. "Good morning," he ventured. "Sleep well did you?"

"Morning?" she repeated still bleary, then bolted straight out of bed looking around. _"Zut! Sacre! Suis en retard! Quel heure est-il? Pourquoi tu ne m'es reveill pas?" _After a moment's search, she located her trampled robe, shook it out and was pulling it on before she looked up and saw the utterly amused look on his face. "_Qu-est-ce que la problme?_"

"Try that in English, won't you?" he replied, a smile quirking at the corner of his mouth and an eyebrow raised as he slid leisurely out of bed and pulled his trousers back on.

"What time is it?"

"Barely seven o'clock."

"You are certain?"

"Quite," he said, gesturing to a wall clock.

"Ah. You might have said."

"I may have, had I known what all that French gabble was," he countered.

"I will have to relieve Tonks by eight," she said, now feeling as though she ought to make some sort of explanation for leaving abruptly. "I will, perhaps, see you at breakfast?"

"Certainly." Already quite close, he took a step forward as she backed up, straight into the ottoman. Her knees buckling at the contact, he caught her as she fell. Clutching the front of the robe, his fingers brushed across her cleavage and she uttered stifled gasp as she lost balance again and landed against him. The distance between them now gone, he swept his fingers up to cup the back of her neck while her gaze focused on his mouth. Leaning down his lips met hers, parting them, a brushing tease before her tongue dipped in, laving against his own in a light lazy dance. She swept the tip of her tongue once over his bottom lip before nipping it gently as he cupped her elbows and stepped back, breaking the contact.

"If that keeps up," he said, swallowing hard, "you'll be quite as late as you thought you were."

"_Oui_. Right. True." She turned, nearly tripping again over the ottoman, thankful her back was now to him and he could not see the blush creeping up. She Flooed straight into her bedroom and sank to her knees. Not in years had she felt so deliciously used. The man was definitely a wonder, she thought. Despite all his harsh looks, there was quite a bit of tenderness there, not to mention a solid reputation from anyone she had talked to in the past week for being a wealth of knowledge and skill. Not to mention the unqualified bravery and strength it took to act as a spy in Lord Voldemort's own camp. Yes, she reasoned, using the post of her bed to pull herself up, there was a lot more to this mystifying man than she had perceived at first. And if there is one thing she loved, it was an enigma.

As she stood shakily in her own room pondering the mysteries of Severus Snape, the man himself paced while fumbling with the buttons on his newly repaired shirt. She was definitely a minx, he considered, wincing a bit as the linen came in contact with his scored back. Not that he minded having a randy red-head clawing at him, especially when she was also moaning in ecstasy, but she was no mere trollop, that was for certain. She was good enough at her job that the French Ministry had sanctioned her as an aide-de-camp, and in fact, she came very highly recommended according to Dumbledore. Simply being an Auror was no small feat; their training was legend and at times rumored to be almost brutal. That move she had used last night was a good indicator, he thought smiling to himself. Not many Death Eaters could pin him and he had been--though vulnerable at the time--bested by the woman. And yet, he considered it highly amusing that such a venerable witch had flushed like a school girl after a midnight romp and one searing morning kiss. Knowing this, and being fully aware of her flaming temper and razor's-edge wit, Severus considered himself lucky that dear, sweet Bella had made such a blazing foul-up. Bless her. With that thought in mind, he nipped back a swig of the untouched firewhiskey and strode out the door to the great hall.


	7. Chapter 7

VII. Les enfants grandent trop vite

After supper the last day of summer, at Dumbledore's request, Severus followed him back upstairs to the office beyond the great gargoyle, knowing he was about to discuss more than the impending arrival of students. Hoping the headmaster wasn't going to be too invasive as he seated himself, Severus found comfort in the fact that in addition to never having been hit on by the old wizard, he also did not tend to pry into the most sensitive subjects often. Still, the man's curiosity piqued to the point of a fault at times. Unfortunately, this was one of them.

"Well, Severus," he began almost as soon as they sat down. "I must confess I am intrigued that you neglected to mention the curse's cure. Surely Ms. Dulac, as the victim, deserved to know everything it entails?"

"If you'll forgive me, Headmaster, I hardly saw the point. Who shall she fall in love with here? Me? Malfoy, perhaps?" he questioned sardonically, his face darkening at the thought. "That's the damnable thing about this curse, if you'll excuse me. "

Dumbledore nodded his acquiescence. "You are quite certain Malfoy has been branded with the Mark?"

"Yes."

"Does he know of her sensitive condition?"

"Of that I am not sure, however, seeing as Bella is his aunt, she may prefer to live vicariously through her nephew." Unable to tolerate the direction of their discussion sitting down, Severus rose and started pacing the room. "She may even consider it a gift for him--a first foray into manhood, or something equally depraved. She's the likely type."

"In which case, you must endeavor to shield Ms. Dulac from his dalliances. The boy is both too young and at once all too willing to exploit any power he may have."

"What should I do?" he said derisively, "shackle myself to her in the event that she passes him by in the hall? He's a teenage boy, as such bound to be randy, and she is patrolling the very halls he walks down."

"You sound as though you find this particularly taxing. You know very well that the ramifications of the curse do not require insistent hovering, but merely that she have a much more preferable outlet for her attentions, to put it discreetly." Severus' lip curled at the thought of being an "outlet" for anything. "Am I to take it, Severus, that you do not find her attractive? She's a lovely woman. Well-spoken, intelligent, a highly skilled Auror. Certainly she must have some redeeming value. It should not be such a chore, surely?" He tipped his gaze over the top of his glasses and smiled serenely.

Severus scowled for a moment, feeling all to hemmed in by the potency of the stare. "Certainly there are no ascertainable physical flaws about her person. She has quite a mouth on her though. Almost insufferable at times."

"Indeed?" Clearly taking it as a double entendre, Dumbledore simply smiled. "Passionate and proud, she is. And if you'll forgive me, quite an equal match for you, if I may be so inclined to indulge in an old man's matchmaking fancy."

"Load of tosh," said Severus disdainfully. "That's the point of it being a curse, that she has no choice. What are you expecting of this? Tea and crumpets at Madame Puddifoot's? Walks on the lake? Stolen kisses? _Orange blossoms_?" He spun on the spot, as if wishing to apparate, fury etched in his face at the old man's audacity.

"Those certainly couldn't hurt by any means--" Dumbledore began.

"Blast it! You do actually expect me to court this woman?" he interrupted.

"She does deserve any amount of recompense for having this foisted upon her, and I do not mean that as a slight to you, Severus. As I mentioned, I believe you both to be more than a match for each other in myriad ways, but the fact remains that her power of choice was completely eliminated. However, you must do what you believe is best."

"How would I even begin?" he wondered aloud.

"You're a resourceful man, Severus," Dumbledore chuckled. "I have faith in you. But give it some time and some thought. It will be a long year, what with Malfoy running rampant and likely any time to attempt to kill me. For now, I must bid you good evening. She and Tonks both will be here soon with their nightly reports."

Hearing this, Severus spun on his heel, clearly intent to be gone by the time the two women arrived.

"Oh and Severus," Dumbledore called, as the younger wizard turned in the doorway, "do not think so meanly of yourself. I have it on good authority that she could very well fall for you quite easily my good man."

"On who's authority, sir?" he questioned suspiciously.

"Hers." The old man's eyes twinkled merrily as Severus turned, saying nothing, and stalked down the stairs, utterly disbelieving.

***

Vivienne, meanwhile, received a nasty blow to her peace of mind the evening of the Sorting Ceremony. She stood, posting in the entrance hall, as the students came streaming out of the double doors on their way to the dormitories when her arm started to twinge. Knowing what the sensation meant, Vivienne looked to the doors expecting to see Severus come through them, only to give way to confusion when she could not spot him anywhere. Surely not, she thought, just as it began to smart painfully. Flexing her hand, and peering closely the faces of the children going by, she met the eyes of one with raised eyebrows and a creeping leer spreading across his pale face. _Ce n'est pas possible!_ she argued. Yet as he drew close enough for only she to hear, he tipped her a lascivious wink and said, "hello, ginger!" whilst two lumpy boys beside him sniggered obnoxiously. Garnering no apparent shock from her, he turned his head and kept walking, only to yelp like a struck dog as her wand suddenly emitted sparks straight to his rear end. A couple of kids who had nearly missed the sparks looked at her quizzically. Vivienne simply smiled. "Must be time for a new one," she said, shrugging her shoulders and shaking the wand as if to make it function correctly. Glancing over to the blonde boy who had stopped with his friends, she simply raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Sorry," she said, completely devoid of any remorse. Muttering to each other, she only caught the words, "my father" before she saw them heading down the dungeon steps. As he did this, and she realized who his head of house was, she simmered even more at the thought that she had not been apprised of this situation. Vowing to get even for this little thorny problem, she stormed through the castle as the great hall emptied, intent on getting through her last rounds of the evening so that she could give _Professeur_ Snape a piece of her mind.

She came upon him doing his own nightly rounds and bore down on him with a vengeance, her cloak flapping behind her. Catching him up as he stopped, watching her warily, she smacked him round the arm and hissed out a breath.

"How dare you not tell me of another Death Eater on these grounds!" she said waspishly. "Of all the idiotic things to neglect to divulge. And I, an Auror! What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking if you hit me again I'll blast you out to the grounds," he said archly as she continued to sputter in a French-English blend of swearing and accusations. "I did not bother telling you about Malfoy--if you'll keep your voice down--because you have now in your possession a fail-proof method for detecting any Death Eaters you come across." Cupping a hand under the irate witch's elbow, he steered her, still steaming, into an empty classroom and cast a silencing charm over the door.

"You know I deserve more warning than this," she yelled, yanking up her sleeve to bare the burning mark. "That--that _boy_! That _whelp_, damn him, was taunting me in front of the whole blasted school! How dare you allow him the latitude to even think such a thing. And he, one of your own students!"

"I was unaware that he knew of your...predicament. I shall be having a word with him about his behavior, as well as his father."

"Yes, his father! He was already blathering on about telling his father on me--"

"Why? What did you do?" he asked, feeling a distinct sense of foreboding. Taking it upon himself, he peered into her eyes in an attempt to see exactly what had transpired, only to feel his mind forced back from hers in an almost palpable slap.

"Don't even think about it!" she snapped. "You have absolutely no right to attempt Legilimency on me! I could have you thrown into Azkaban for even attempting." With a toss of her head she turned to pass him out the door, only to have him seize her arm once again and yank her back in front of him.

"I merely wanted to see what had happened that I should be prepared to answer for when his mother comes calling, as she may well do," Severus said, scarcely controlling the urge to roll his eyes. "As you seem to be too...distraught to give any answers, more so shrieking recriminations, I endeavored to see for myself. I must confess I am impressed with your Occlumency skills, however."

"Of course I have nothing but the finest skill in Occlumency. It is of utmost importance for us to protect state secrets, as you well know. You were as likely testing me as you were trying to get information. And it failed miserably. As to your randy pup, he leered, catcalled, and got his pants singed for his troubles--in front of his chubby little friends no less. And serves him right for being such a presumptuous little prick!"

She found herself shaking with rage and embarrassment as the very memory burned, viciously determined not to let the latter show. Wrenching herself loose at last, she stormed from the room leaving Severus winded, infuriated, and more than a little stirred at this tempestuous little chit who seemed to know exactly which of his buttons to push.

les enfants grandent trop vite = children grow up too quickly  
Ce n'est pas possible! = that's not possible!


	8. Chapter 8

VIII. Actions and words

Severus Snape was not a man who apologized easily--in fact he hadn't done it in years unless self-preservation dictated he do so. Rather, he depended on his actions to acquit him of any wrongdoing. With that thought in mind, he considered himself absolved when he called Draco Malfoy to his office for a thorough dressing down, a revocation of more than 50 house points, and a month's detention with Filch scrubbing out the owlery sans magic. Although satisfied that the whelp, as she so succinctly put it, would not presume to address a Ministry official in such a manner again, he still spent the next few days still rankled at the one thing she said that he could not justify. He had owed her fair warning, and he was sure it had come as quite a shock to feel that mark burn at the presence of a mere child. Knowing that he would have felt the same had he walked into a similar situation without full disclosure, Severus felt more than a smidgen of guilt that he had not told her of the development when he returned from Draco's induction. For a day or so though, he still tried to assuage the feeling by telling himself that he could not be sure that Bella would share the news of Vivienne's curse and that Draco's first mission as a Death Eater took precedence. In the end, he had to admit even to himself that Bella had less maternal instinct than he did, and it likely did not extend to Draco. As twisted as she was, she probably wasted no time in highlighting one of the perks of the job with her nephew. Ultimately, he circled back to the issue time and again to the point that he figured if he did not go ahead and choke down a stringy bite of crow, he would not sleep the night. As a result, it was nearly a week later that he strode to the door of his quarters having abandoned all pretense of rereading _Asiatic Anti-Venoms_ and resolved himself to go to the maddening witch and apologize. He was still trying to figure out quite how to do the thing when he opened the door to find the woman herself on the other side of it, clearly about to knock.

"Oh, you're there--"

"Hello, I--"

"Would you like to--"

"Yes, I'm back--would I like to what?"

"Come in. For a moment?"

"Oh, of course."

Tired of trying to speak only to interrupt each other, they both lapsed into silence as Vivienne stepped into his room. Severus, who had intended to rehearse some sort of speech in his head as he made his way to her rooms, was now completely at a loss and covered his lack of composure by pouring them both a generous glass of elf-made wine, gesturing for her to take one of the armchairs by the fire. She accepted the proffered glass, taking a sip before setting it down on the side table and clearing her throat.

"I just finished my rounds a moment ago and met up with _Monsieur_ Filch and your little protg."

"Did you? I have had it from Filch that Mr. Malfoy is none too pleased about his penance for harassing you."

"Yes, it also helps that he all but side-steps away from me when I see him now. I gave him a sting he will not soon forget. But your Filch did make me to understand what his 'penance' as you put it, entails. I wanted to thank you for that. I must say a large part of my anger was such wounded pride to be treated so by someone as young as he."

Severus gave a slow nod, sipping his wine before speaking. "Certainly, it is understandable and I do feel that I should apologize on his behalf and mine. I am aware that it is part of my job as his head of house to teach him more deference and humility. He certainly does not get it at home, considering. However, I also apologize for placing you into that predicament. I was present when he was given the Mark. It was my own shortcoming to know his family so closely and not expect him to be told of your situation. It was, after all, his aunt who cursed you. And I too know what it is like to take such cheek from mere children...all too well."

"And I will accept, if only we can put this behind us and agree to be open with each other from this time forward."

Severus nodded his agreement.

"That is not all I wanted to see you for, however," Vivienne said, lowering her eyes to the rug and taking a more generous sip of wine. "I actually came to ask a favor, if I may."

"What is it?" he said, growing suspicious that the favor must be a big one for her to be so willing to smooth things over.

"From my Auror training we have been taught to always brew our own potions--to avoid tampering or poisoning by someone...that is, not that I do not trust you...it is ingrained...I have no idea how to ask this." She sighed, taking another sip and started again. "One of the potions we brew regularly, the women of course, is an anti-conception draught, just in case we were ever tortured, so...er... Albus mentioned that you did your own brewing in your study still, and I take that to mean that you have all the supplies. That is...I would rather not ask _Professeur_ Slughorn..."

"You need to brew more of your draught and would like the use of my materials?"

She nodded. "And the ingredients if you have them. I am nearly depleted in my stores, and I thought it might be much quicker than sending off for them. If that is alright."

"Of course. You know the password to my office, and it is at your disposal. I no longer have the use of the school stores, but I have my own and should have in my possession all the necessaries you require. I must admit that is some relief considering our current situation. I had not thought of casting a Coitus Innocuus charm. For double protection, in future, I suppose we can use both."

"Yes, of course," she said, now blushing furiously.

Noting her discomfort brought to mind Dumbledore's last words from their meeting. "I don't suppose you've discussed this further with the Headmaster," he ventured, purely to see her reaction. By the crimson flush that stole over all her features, he was not disappointed.

"Why?" she asked nervously, remembering the potion and her rather pointed questions on the subject of her desire. "What did he tell you?"

Severus allowed her nothing more than a lazy shrug of his shoulder, as he watched her with a vague look of smugness twitching the corners of his mouth while he traced a finger over the rim of his glass. It was enough to unnerve her completely, as she was now certain that Dumbledore had mentioned her asking him about whether the curse caused desire for a certain person. Still unwilling to admit that it was Severus she desired, Vivienne decided to abandon pretense and prod him for information. If the old man had been loose-lipped already, what was the point?

"Very well," she said, resignedly, "what have you to say? Is it true that the curse can dictate the object of your desires?"

"No," he said mystified. "Why should it? It is merely a curse, which Bella herself invented, to _yoke_ the desires of anyone she wishes to torment. Part of the point is that in lieu of gaining the true object of a person's affections, they instead must turn to any given Death Eater for release. She would use it in raids when prisoners were taken to keep morale up, as she put it. Therefore to desire a particular person would defeat the purpose of the curse. Why...have you found yourself desiring someone in particular?"

"N-no. I was just...curious." She gestured vaguely. "I wanted to know all the ramifications, that's all."

His dark eyes glittered at the prospect. Had she come to him so thoroughly aroused that night simply because she wanted him in the first place, only to have that feeling compounded by the curse? If so, this was an interesting development. As he lapsed into a contemplative silence, Vivienne feared she had already said too much and resolved to leave his chambers before she made an utter fool of herself. Placing the now empty goblet on the table, she stood abruptly.

"I should go. It's getting late, and I have quite a long day tomorrow. As do you, I'm sure."

"Yes, quite. I'll show you to the door," he said. He shot up and cutting her off, was at the door in two strides, one hand on the knob so that she had to stop and wait for him to open it. This gesture gave him a full view of her face which was still quite flushed and afforded him the chance to note that she still could not quite meet his eyes. Perhaps the old buzzard was right, he thought, as Vivienne stepped out the door, muttering a good night and sweeping down the hall as quickly as her little feet would go. Severus smirked openly into his glass as he drained it, fully intent on conducting a few little experiments of his own soon, especially now that he knew he would have the luxury of her presence in his office over the next couple of weeks. If he had any say, that potion was going to come in handy.


	9. Chapter 9

IX. Stirring the pot

Vivienne entered Severus' study later the next evening, to an apparently empty room. She fully appreciated the fact that he had already set up the cauldron for her, as well as pulling out the ingredients, a mortar and pestle, knife, and oddly, an ingredients list for a contraceptive concoction she was not familiar with, but which looked very potent:

_Anti-conception Draught  
4__ drams, crushed fruit of embelia ribes  
4 drams, fine grain of long pepper  
2 drams, silphion leaves  
4 drams, boric salt  
2/3 dram per day 22 days, lasts up to a year_

"A year?" she wondered at the apparent effectiveness of the potion he was obviously suggesting she use. Suddenly, she sensed rather that heard a movement behind her. Having the grace not to jump, she did allow her body to stiffen and her hand closed over her wand before she caught the scent of her would-be assailant. As she caught the sight of black robes in her peripheral vision, Vivienne let her wand drop back into her pocket but remained tense as Severus rested a hand on the counter, still standing behind her. Again she felt a flush creep up her neck to her face.

Wondering how in the world she had missed his entrance from the other door, Vivienne tried to steady her pulse again and acknowledge his presence without giving away the kick that her system still felt from having him stand so close, for he still refused to back away. "What is this potion you've given me?"

"It is a formula for a much older and more effective draught," he said, placing a hand at her waist as he leaned in to take the paper from her hand, brushing his fingers across hers as he pulled it from her. "As you can see, it uses silphion, which Greek witches and wizards both used centuries ago. I have embellished it, I believe increasing its effectiveness. Any women I have brewed it for have staved off conception for up to a year."

He did not mention that it was thanks to this draught that he lost his virginity, as he gained a reputation amongst the bad girls in school as the source for the potion that would keep them from getting pregnant. It was still a point of pride as he had accumulated quite a few notches in his belt that served to soothe his wounded ego after Lily's abandonment. Still, as long as Vivienne did not ask the conditions under which he perfected it, she need not know. Already she was jumpy at his presence and clearly had expected to be alone. He relished the thought that just his closeness made her breath catch, smirking as she took a step to the side, he moved in, closing the gap and leaving his hand upon her waist more to restrain her from moving further away as well as keeping her fragrant scent right under his nose. She smelled of jasmine flowers, with a trace of vanilla. So succulent he wished he could taste her.

"If you swear by it, I'll try it," she said, cutting into his thoughts as she began crushing the embelia fruit. Watching her deft little hands, Severus felt a twitch of arousal that she definitely appeared to know her way about potion making. Nevertheless, he slid his hand down her arm and covered her much smaller one with his. Her hand stilled completely with the knife as he began showing her how to crush it with the flat side of the blade. Pulling her hair back off her shoulder on the pretense of being able to see better, he could now see the pulse racing at the soft part of her neck and dipped his mouth to it, only to hear her gasp and feel it kick harder. Pressing himself fully against her, she could feel his already hard erection pressing into her bottom as his hands closed over her breasts. Sliding her down the table away from the now forgotten potion, he began unfastening the buttons over her bodice, still suckling on her neck and shoulder. Vivienne helped as he finished unbuttoning her dress before reaching around to cup his bum. Intending to take full advantage of the situation, Severus placed her hands back on the table, bending her over it as she gasped his name, now fully aware of what he was intending. He hitched her skirts right up to her hips, wrenched her silken panties down, and slid first one finger into her already wet opening, before sliding in the other as he unfastened his trousers, finally freeing himself to press against the cleft of her buttocks. "Oh god!" she cried, arching her hips up against him.

Leaning over her fully, he began kneading her breasts as he positioned himself at her entrance, just nudging the tip in enough to have her moaning for more. "Please..." she trailed off, her mouth open in a silent plea as he finally stroked in, up, deeply as he ground his hips against her back side. Tweaking her pert nipples between finger and thumb, he began rocking against her in earnest as she clutched for purchase against the edge of the table. The feel of his sac bumping against her tight buttocks had him tensing all too soon as she continued to cry out, her muscles already contracting against him as he struggled to hold on. Knowing his end was coming all too soon, he reached down where they were joined, and pressed against the swollen clit as she bucked more wildly into him, shaking and screaming in orgasmic release as he pumped his seed into her clenching walls. Stroking a hand over her bared cheek, he allowed himself to slide slowly out of her as he gave her breast a squeeze before letting her turn to face him.

Her bodice still open bearing the rapid rise and fall of her cleavage, she looked at him astounded. "What brought that on?" she breathed, still willing her system to right itself as she brushed her skirts flat again, sliding her panties back up.

"I was testing a theory I had," Severus said, his glistening black eyes belying something else entirely.

"What theory?" said Vivienne disbelievingly as she began buttoning her robes again.

"That the curse does not work correctly with you. Did you feel any desire coming in here?" he asked, leaning companionably against the table as though discussing a simple potions experiment.

"No I did not," she said, affronted.

"And that is interesting, because I did." On purpose, he thought.

"Well of course, I knew that when you--"

"No, you mistake me. You were tuned in enough at that point to tell, of course, because I was blatant with it, but had the curse been working you would have felt it even before you came to my door. Likewise, you mentioned having seen Draco the other night and if he felt even a passing desire to get into your knickers you would have flown to my quarters much quicker than you did. You have had none of the symptoms I assume?"

"Well, now you've mentioned it, both times I have felt a somewhat vague urge to...well, copulate. But nothing as strong as what you originally mentioned."

"No, I believe for some reason the curse has loosened its hold upon you. You still feel it as a vague urge, as you say, but the worst effects are nonexistent. I cannot explain what is happening, but whatever it is, I will continue to monitor what appears to be your progress, much sooner than expected I must say." He did feel a huge pang of regret that she may not need him much longer at this rate. It frankly surprised him to feel such a strong sense of loss.

"So you needed to shag me fully to get that?" she put in. "You could not have simply asked?" A smug smile played at her lips as she realized she already knew the answer.

Severus, unwilling to yield, simply raised an eyebrow as she closed the distance between them, walking her fingers up his chest to cup his cheek. "Do you desire me too..._professeur_?"

"I would be a fool not to," he replied, sliding his arms around her waist. "And I am no fool." Abandoning all pretense, he lowered his mouth to hers, plundering it as he pulled her taut against him, raking teeth against lips, sucking lightly against her tongue and plunging his own in to take as she gasped for breath before he pulled away leaning against his desk to keep from losing his balance. She stood, eyes wide in shock as she grasped the full impact of what he had said. Clearly, their mutual desire had the curse loosening its grip on her. Extremely touched, she reached out to him again, this time circling his waist as she drew him into a sweet embrace and laid her head on his chest for a long moment, just listening to the beat of his heart.


	10. Chapter 10

_Alors, a short chapter, I know. But I wanted to get this info out before I start with the lemons. ;)_

X. Les liens qu'accrochent

Once they did finally get around to blending the potion and setting it to brew, Vivienne found herself coming to Severus' study every evening thereafter to check its progress. Severus, likewise, always met her there either opening the door upon her arrival or by showing up shortly after herself. They shared many conversations over the simmering cauldron and many smoldering kisses. Their conversations wound through any number of subjects, from the things she observed in the hallways watching students and teachers, to the catastrophes he'd averted in the Dark Arts classroom, and from shady potions they had learned to brew because of their jobs, to the things they had seen and done on assignments. Severus was amazed to find such a confidante, for here was the first person he felt could accept the things he had been forced to do under duress.

On one such night, he had even brought her into his quarters and let her take a lingering look at his Dark Mark and robes, while she brought down her beret with the French Auror symbol--a wand emitting seven sparks on a background of two triangles, one red and one green (red for sacrifice, green for hope) as well as her own tattoo, a sword surrounded by feathers on her back right shoulder. She explained that the symbols were indicative of her occupation and title.

"As Aurors, we are volunteers serving France faithfully and with honor. Every Auror you stand alongside is your brother at arms, and as such you regard each other with unwavering and straight-forward solidarity which must always bind together members of the same family, because that is what we are. We must be respectful of the order's traditions, honoring our superiors. Our discipline and camaraderie are our strengths, courage and loyalty are our virtues. We should be proud of our status as that of an Auror, as we are _la crme de la crme_. We are taught to display this pride, by always having exemplary turnout, always impeccable in manner and dress. Our behavior, ever worthy, though modest, and our living-quarters, always tidy."

"We are, in a word, elite soldiers. We have trained vigorously, maintaining our wands as weapons, as if it were our most precious possession. We are instructed to keep our bodies in the peak of condition, always fit. And a mission, we were taught, once given to us becomes sacred to us, and we will accomplish it to the end at all cost. That is our pledge, almost word-for-word. Does that sound familiar?" she finished, smiling.

"I don't know which it sounds more like, the Order or the Death Eaters," Severus said dryly, a glass of wine in hand.

"Um, the Order I think," she said, pausing for another sip of wine. "We use a bird symbol too. A Falcon. On all our parchments, it is seated on its perch, a symbol of a bearer who is ready and serviceable for high affairs. The feathers on our tattoos and cloaks are for cunning, bravery, pride, and intelligence. Just like the animal. Regal, yet trained to kill. In combat, we act without relish of our task, or hatred. We will give respect to the vanquished enemy and will never abandon neither our wounded nor our dead, nor will we under any circumstance surrender our wands or our selves. Respect, or war without relish, I think is something your Death Eaters would not abide."

"Quite the opposite really. Killing and destruction are acts of revelry." He stared contemplatively into his empty glass.

"I know," she said cocking her head to the side at she gaze at him. "There were dark wizards enough at home. It was posing as their cohorts and comrades that taught me how vile they can be truly." He looked back at her, as if disbelieving his own ears. She nodded, assuring him of her veracity. "Oh yes, I too have had my fill of doing any number of dark deeds to get close to bringing someone down. I have done things I never would have expected, all in the name of currying favor with those who would gain power only to abuse it. Voldemort is not the first, he is simply the worst and the best backed. But that is why I am here, and why you are here, why we both work so hard for what we know we must accomplish. Because it cannot be allowed. That is why I know you are such a good man, and a brave one."

"How do you know what I am? Or that I am really who I claim to be?" he asked, cupping the back of her head and bringing her forehead down to touch his.

"Because I know here," she said, pressing a fist to her chest. "I have met dark wizards, sociopaths, and those greedy for power. I have sent any number of them to prisons just like Azkaban. You are not like them, Severus." She tipped his chin up with her hand and touched her lips to his. "You are so much more."

*les liens qu'accrochent = the ties that bind


	11. Chapter 11

_Lemon, see through in the sunlight  
she wore lemon  
never in the daylight  
she's gonna make you cry  
she's gonna make you whisper and moan  
and when you're dry  
she'll draw the water from the stone..._  
--U2

XI. Le liaison est forge

She tilted her head, changing the angle of the kiss, deepening it. Sliding his hand over his wand, Severus sent their wine glasses back to the cabinet and laid back as she kneeled over him, trailing little kisses over his face and neck.

"I know what you need, perhaps, to show you what you are worthy of," she smiled seductively, sliding off the bed to stand beside it.

Severus leaned up on his elbows, clearly disgruntled. "What I need, you great teasing tart, is for you to come back up here and finished what you've started."

"Oh, _la, la mon cher_," she said, wagging a finger at him. "_Un minute_." With that, she began slowly lifting off her silk tank top, to reveal her breasts, swathed in black lace and lifted as if in offering. Severus growled low, as she unzipped the black pencil skirt that hugged her curves and let it slide to the floor, as she stood showcased in black silk stockings, complete with garter belt. She propped one high-heeled foot on his ottoman, giving him a clear view of her folds as she unsnapped the garters and peeled away one stocking, before repeating the same gesture for the second while he made to get up from the mattress. Vivienne merely flicked her wand in his direction as his own wand shot across the room. "What the--" he said, looking from the wand back to the scantily clad woman. Taking the discarded slips of silk in her hand, Vivienne tossed them onto his lap, pointing her wand at them and saying, "_incarcerous_!"

"What are you doing, woman!" Severus said, slightly panicked now that he was disarmed and his wrists were bound to the bed post by her stockings.

"Tsk, tsk, Severus," she purred, climbing back up over him. "You wanted me to finish what I started, _cher_, yet you said nothing about being allowed to help." She smiled as he licked his lips, already breathing rapidly. "Now," she said whispering into his ear, "I would love to you to watch what I'm going to do to you, but...perhaps, another time?"

Flicking her wand once more she said, "_oculos oblige_! It is lucky my draught was ready, _non_?" She placed a kiss over his now blindfolded eyes, laughing softly as he writhed.

"When I get out of this, you little wench..." he trailed off, sucking in a breath as she pressed another kiss to his blatantly bulging trousers.

"When I finally let you go, _mon grand homme_, you will be entirely too satisfied to do much else. _Exue_!" she cried, flicking her wand over his body as the clothes whisked themselves off and onto the floor. "Now we play."

Vivienne took her time, tracing fingertips over every sinew and cleft, as if memorizing the contours of his body. She snaked along the downy path to his loins as his shaft gave a twitch. Leaning in, she took the head into her mouth as he moaned in exquisite agony. Unwilling to give up the game yet, she raked her tongue back up, laving against his lightly defined pecs, suckling gently against his neck and ear lobe, sliding her hands up his strong arms. She laid her body against his, rocking her hips against him gently. He drew his legs up, hoping she would end the exquisite torture but she merely crawled off and began licking the insides of his thighs, causing his manhood to ooze a few drops of cum, which she blotted with her tongue. She pressed kisses to a scar that cut across his thigh while she planted her legs on either side of his chest. Softly, slowly, she dipped her lower lips to his mouth only to arch back up again as his tongue flicked out to taste her. Smiling at the power she wielded, knowing he trusted her, she lowered her mouth to his engorged member and ran her tongue along the length of his shaft as she rested her hips on top of his chest, just out of reach of his mouth, yet close enough he could smell the exotic aroma of her sex.

Using hands and mouth together she stroked his inner thighs, with a light touch of fingernails as she flicked a tongue over his tip, before taking all of him into her. "Oh god!" he cried out, arching into her mouth as he began struggling in earnest against the binds. She moaned over him, sucking harder as she reached one hand under to fondle his balls while the other pinched first the inside of his thigh, then the tender cleft of his cheek between his legs. She backed up, just enough for him to taste her essence as he began laving his tongue against her labia, saliva mingling with her own juices, making her even wetter as she savored him. Clamping her mouth over his hardened shaft, she stroked her mouth and hand back and forth in opposite directions, driving his nerves wild as he bunched under her, moaning into her core as he flicked his tongue over her clit. She groaned in turn, her vocal cords sending waves of vibrations down his member. Stroking firmly with one hand, she eased back and swished the tip of her tongue over the notch at the base of his head causing him to fall back away from her. "Vivienne! Oh my god, yes!" he panted, before returning to her swollen folds with a vengeance. He plunged his tongue repeatedly into her opening, his nose bumping against her as she started bucking her hips. His own arched against her mouth as she began sucking furiously, massaging his tightening sac and moaning stronger over his shaft as their nerves sang and they sprung taught as a bow while he pumped hot semen into her mouth and she swallowed, throat muscles clenching around him, milking him all the more as she finally cried out, spent, when his tongue found her throbbing nub. She leaned forward to give him a playful nip on his inner thigh, just beside his balls as his member eased back into a flaccid state. She finally pulled herself from his swollen, moistened mouth and licked her own juices from his lips. Taking up her wand again, she released the blindfold and stockings binding him and smiled as he rolled her straight over and covered her body with his.

***

Hours later they sat, a plate of leftovers from the Halloween feast between them as Severus pondered the fact that this may well have been the best holiday he'd had in ages. This time as they talked of their missions and the training they received, he did so, not with the heavy heart of one who knows secrets which could shock the sensibilities of the woman who was his sole audience, but as one soldier and confidante to another. In Vivienne, Severus realized, there was acceptance and an utter lack of judgment for things long past. He spoke of things he had never mentioned, even to Dumbledore, that he had witnessed at the hands of Voldemort, of Lily, of the never ending path to redemption he had been trudging for ages. In turn, Vivienne related stories of the numerous riots, rapes, and vicious crimes that she had witnessed in cognito, all in the name of bringing down a notorious murderer some five years back who strived to be as infamous as Voldemort himself. She talked of the wrenching guilt she faced for not stopping the crimes she had seen, simply to keep her cover and be able to report back--in an effort to bring a wide scale crack-down on not only the prime suspect, but his accomplices as well. Here, he thought as she spoke, was someone who truly understood and empathized with the position he had been in for years. Vivienne on the other hand was amazed that he had held up so well, belonging to both the Order and the Death Eaters.

"That's a very fine line you walk, Severus," she said in hushed tones, as the firelight flickered over their faces, casting the rest of the room into shadow.

"Don't I know it. And yet here, now that I have just spoken with Dumbledore this evening, he is wanting you to be inducted into the Order as well."

Vivienne barely raised an eyebrow at the thought. "I don't know why he did not consider it sooner, I am already fighting alongside you all for the most part. And I know of your headquarters locale. So why not?"

"This is true, and yet, I do have reservations. Were we to swear you in and the other Death Eaters catch wind of it, they would be after you all the more."

"That is nothing I would not be prepared for."

"I have no idea how I myself would prepare for it though," he said thoughtfully, placing the plate on the night table and pulling her closer. "It would be the second time the life of a woman I cared about was threatened."

"Trust me,_ mon gentil_, I will do all I can to keep the life I have in this body. And you should know, should the occasion arise, I will do all I can to keep you too."

"And I, little one, will not allow someone I cherish to be taken from me again. I will be damned if it will happen twice." He brushed his fingers through her hair and placed a soft kiss to her temple.

"When the time comes then, Severus," she said, pressing a kiss to his palm. "We fight side by side. Now...when do I join up?"

*The relationship is bonded/cemented  
oculos oblige = blindfold (Lat.)  
exue = undress (Lat.)  
mon gentil = my sweet


	12. Chapter 12

_Whew! Long chapter, but hopefully worth it. Here goes..._

XII. Unbreakable Bonds

As it happened, Dumbledore declared that Vivienne's time to join up would be during the Christmas holidays. In his increasing discomfort at staying alone with Kreacher, despite everyone else going in and out, Sirius had extended an invitation to stay for the holidays to any Order members who could attend. Dumbledore, in his desire to cheer up Sirius, suggested that Vivienne's induction be held on Christmas Eve and as such, could be celebrated with the holiday. Harry would be spending the break with his god-father, and Remus and Tonks as well decided they would stay for the week after Christmas. Severus, who could not be persuaded to spend that much time in Black's presence, suggested that he and Vivienne enjoy some much-needed time alone together at Hogwarts both before and after her induction. Finding Vivienne agreeable, he spent the first few weeks of December planning. She still ended her nightly patrols by stopping off at his quarters or his office for a word, and a bedtime kiss or more. One particularly frosty day she actually had some time off and wound her way through the dungeons to spend some quality time with her favorite professor. Yet as she rounded the corner to the hall leading past the classrooms, she heard raised voices and quickened her steps.

Advancing on the students scuffling in the halls, she saw one of the Malfoy boy's chubby friends restraining a round-faced Gryffindor while the other oaf raised his wand.

"Let me go!" cried the Gryffindor, wincing in pain as the brute simply tightened his grip.

"Now you'll get it you dirty mudblood loving ponce!" sneered the wand-bearer.

"Both of you stop it at once!" bellowed Vivienne, drawing up to them at last. "The three of you off with me to _Professeur_ Snape's offices! NOW!" she snapped, brandishing her own wand. The two portly Slytherins complied, remembering all too well how good she was with a wand.

No longer bothering to knock, Vivienne swept straight into Severus' office with the boys in tow only to find him stirring a simmering concoction that smelled faintly of cinnamon. At first he barely spared her a glance, until he noticed their company and then drew a resigned breath.

"_Professeur_," she began, "I caught these two in the hallway just now ganging up on the littler one." She indicated Crabbe and Goyle as Neville stood, hanging his head.

"Is that so?" he questioned the boys, his eyes glittering menacingly.

"Yes sir," they answered, having the good grace at least to duck their heads.

"Very well, 20 points apiece for you Crabbe and you Goyle...and you both can head straightaway upstairs to Madame Pomfrey to see what time she wants you this week for cleaning out the chamber pots, _sans magic_." At this, both boys pulled disgusted faces and mumbled a "yes sir" before hurrying out the door and leaving the third boy still gazing at his shoes.

"So, Longbottom," Severus said, crossing his arms. "What were you doing down here in the Slytherin corridor?"

"L-l-looking for P-professor Slughorn, s-sir," stammered Longbottom.

"How is it that they managed to accost you? Why did you not avoid them?" questioned Severus accusingly.

"...came up behind me," the boy mumbled barely audibly. He was clearly more frightened of Severus than either of the other boys.

"If you don't mind, Severus," Vivienne spoke up, alarmed at his reaction. "When I came around the corner, one was restraining him while the other raised his wand. Clearly they were ganging up on him. This wasn't his fault."

Severus looked extremely nonplussed at this, but clasping his hands behind his back said to Longbottom, "very well, you may go. But mind yourself in future around darkened corridors and perhaps keep your communications with teachers either during class or office hours. Now off with you."

"Yes, sir," whispered the nervous boy before turning and nearly running out the door.

"Severus Snape!" she said, placing hands on hips in sheer wonderment. "I cannot believe you did that. Have you no compassion? Clearly they were picking on him. Those two great puddings barely got off with a verbal swatting thanks to you! What does that teach them, I wonder?"

"Teaches them to be less blatant about it, most like," he growled, "but Longbottom, on the other hand, it teaches him to stand up for himself instead of sniveling like a coward. Brave Gryffindor, that one." His voice fairly dripped with sarcasm.

"The oh-so-English stiff upper lip, is it?" she said jeeringly.

"Well I won't be mollycoddling him, woman! What do you want? Me to hand him a tissue and pat his head? He should learn to take his lumps, or else give back as good as he gets."

"So why don't you teach him then?"

"Me? Teach what?"

"Teach him--show him--how to stand up to bullies."

"Are you mad? He's not even in my house."

"What difference does that make? It did not stop you from trying to teach him a stiff upper in the roundabout way. What's wrong with direct? My dad did that with me. My understanding is Longbottom does not have one of those."

"Your dad did what?" he asked, eyeing her dubiously.

"He taught me to fight off bullies. To stand up for myself."

"And why would he need to do that?"

Vivienne simply rolled her eyes, fisting a hand on her hip. "Because _obviously_ I was getting bullied and he did not believe in tissues either."

"But you're a girl--" he began, only to be cut off by Vivienne's mocking laugh.

"And so do you think that stops them? Just a gender difference? You have a ghost holed up in your lavatory because of bullies 50 years back. I assure you things like that do not change for centuries, in other countries, or with other genders."

"Moaning Myrtle notwithstanding, I was not aware of this. What happened to you, if I might ask?"

"Well, when I first came to Beauxbatons, I was already well...developed, I suppose you would say," she began. "Most of the boys at that time simply thought it was funny and they would gang up on me in the halls, at times when teachers were not around, whenever they saw me. The girls started rumors, jealously of course, that I was already doing things no eleven year-old should... I owled my mother I know not how many times that year, begging her to allow me to come back home or go to another school."

"In the end, close to Christmas holidays, a _professeur_ came upon me in a restroom there, a group of boys surrounding me and picking incessantly. These though were different... They were a bit older and knew what they were about, so their taunts were much more hurtful and frightening. They, erm...did disgusting vile things, like pinching my nipples they said to see if they were real or I was just stuffing my bras, they spat on me."

She trailed off at a sound of disgust from Severus, effectively breaking her out of her reverie.

"So naturally, they were all rounded up and sent to the Headmaster with me in tow, punished soundly with whippings since they used the cane back then. The Headmaster wrote their parents, gave them abysmal detentions, and wrote my parents as well suggesting that they help me out in some way. My mother of course had no idea what to do and entreated my father finally to help. And he did," she finished, smiling.

"What did he do?" Severus asked hesitatingly.

"As soon as Christmas holidays started, he took me out in the yard straightaway and taught me any number of hexes, not to mention a brilliant right hook," she said fondly, "and had me out there practicing with him daily until I bloodied his lip. It was then he deemed me ready for the next term. He told me the first boy who acted unseemly, I should take him and make an example of before everyone, which I did. Naturally I got my own whipping and a round of detentions, but it was well worth it, I think. None of them ever bothered me again. I even managed to make a few female friends by the end of the year. By the time the boys started coming back around, they were much more polite and the other girls had grown into themselves, so I wasn't treated like a freak."

"You could never be a freak," he said, his face hardening.

"No, but then, an eleven year-old girl doesn't know any better does she? Children's esteem has to be fostered, as my father did, by showing me how to stand up for myself. That is why I now have the opinion that I do of bullies and those bullied by them. There are always people who would pick on those weaker, so there always must be those who stand up for them and help them to fight. My father taught me that. He was an Auror as well, and that was his policy. That is how he views dark wizards, as great bullies who must be taken down a peg or two."

"So I take it you never had to suffer the torment of bullying," she reasoned, cocking her head to look up at him.

"On the contrary, had I not known as many hexes when I came to school, I would have been at the utter mercy of Black, Lupin and the blighted Potter. I cannot count how frequently they ganged up on me as it were. In the loos, on the grounds, wherever... Potter, the great prize idiot had me swinging from the air once and would have had my trousers at my ankles if Professor Kettleburn hadn't come along."

"You're joking," Vivienne said, revolted. "What unmitigated asses." With that, she linked her arms around his neck and nuzzled him there.

"Well I'm hardly a child now. It doesn't matter anymore." he said, yet wrapping his arms around her and drawing her in at the same time.

"Of course it does. There is always that wounded child within, who wants someone to soothe as well as teach strength. My mother was the soft one and 'mollycoddled', I think you called it. Children need both, I believe. So there," she said kissing his chest, right over his heart. "For all those hurts you didn't get kissed away, right where you're tenderest." She giggled. "Is that the word? 'Tenderest'?"

"No," he said smiling slightly, "but I understand your meaning." And though he was loathe to admit it, he did feel somewhat better.

***

With the lack of students and teachers over Christmas holidays, the Ministry deemed it admissible for only one Auror to stay behind. This suited perfectly with Tonks and Vivienne, as Tonks preferred to spend her holiday at Grimmauld Place with Lupin and Black. Vivienne, on the other hand, escorted Severus to her rooms nightly, as they were much warmer than the dungeons. During the days she went light on her rounds before heading to the kitchens for some baking. The house elves crowded around and watched as she baked what she called _la bche de Nol, _or Yule Log, made with chocolate and chestnuts, only to stop in the next couple of days and bake custard and apple mini tarts and buttery croissants. Thus it was that on Christmas Eve she packed two heavy picnic baskets full, one with the Yule Log and croissants, one with the tarts, and topped it off with a bag full of chocolate biscuits, two bottles of Muscat, and two rounds of Le Brin cheeses. Levitating the baskets and bottles up the stairs, she met Dumbledore and Severus in the office waiting to Floo in to Headquarters, Minerva and Hagrid having already gone ahead.

"Oh my! It smells wonderful whatever it is," said Dumbledore, sniffing appreciatively.

"So this is what you've been up to," said Severus, before he realized what he had just admitted. He spared a glance at Dumbledore, who was busily digging out a small pot of Floo powder and did not seem to notice that his Defense teacher had apparently been spending time with the Auror.

"Well, we're ready, Ms. Dulac. If you like I shall take one of these delightfully fragrant baskets. Severus, if you'll take the other, we shall be on our way," he said, throwing a handful on the fire and stepping through. Vivienne followed suit, as did Severus, who took the other basket in one hand and the bag of biscuits in the other. A moment later, they stepped out of the flue in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place to be greeted by Black, standing by the table expectantly.

"Happy Christmas, Snivellus," smirked Sirius.

"Happy Christmas there, mangy one," he said tossing the bag of biscuits onto the table. "Doggy bag?"

"Don't either of you two start that, or I'll smack both your heads together," Vivienne said, taking Severus' arm and eyeing them both pointedly. "Better yet, put something in your mouths, both of you." And with that, she settled

the two baskets on the table between them. Severus, discerning which basket held the tarts, snatched two of them greedily, before following Vivienne over to Molly who was busy setting out mince pies and cutting up slices to place on plates.

"Allow me, Molly to take some of that off your hands," he said bowing slightly and taking a plate she offered.

"Happy Christmas, Severus," she said, smiling widely. "Aren't you in a good mood?"

"Must be the weather," he said smugly, cupping Vivienne's elbow as she took a plate and steering her over to the opposite end of the table from Sirius. At that point, Hagrid ducked through the doorway, followed by Minerva who embraced Vivienne, Severus, and Dumbledore wishing them a happy Christmas, then the Weasley twins, who smelled the food and came to beg. A few minutes later, the kitchen was crowded as Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione came downstairs and Tonks and Lupin showed up from the entryway with more drinks and cups. Severus and Sirius summoned extra chairs from elsewhere in the house and when Arthur finally showed up from the Ministry, pies, pastries and the like were all set out and devoured within an hour. Compliments floated all around for both Molly and Vivienne, as everyone was happily filled and sated. All too soon though, the candles they had lit burned low and before everyone's eyelids drooped too heavily, Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose, signaling the end of festivities and time for business.

"Now as we wish our younger members good night, I propose a toast, before we get on to the matter at hand with regard to Vivienne's induction and the need for reinforcements to take back our world from the brink of destruction."

"To the end of this all," said Dumbledore forcefully.

"To the end," they toasted, clinking glasses.

"And now, I bid you all good night and pleasant dreams... and may Crookshanks have eaten all of your Extendable Ears," he said, smiling merrily as he waved the four youngest out the door. As soon as Ginny exited the room, he cast a silencing charm over the door and turned to face the adults, still seated.

"There, for our first order of business, my dear, if you would join hands with me," Dumbledore said, beckoning to Vivienne, who stepped over and seated herself next to him, linking her hand with his and meeting his solemn gaze. "Severus, if you would be so kind as to be our Bonder. We will, for your induction, ask you to make the Unbreakable Vow."

Vivienne nodded. Though unexpected, it was perfectly understandable. "Very well."

"Excellent," he said, as Severus stepped forward and drew his wand, touching its tip to their linked hands.

"Vivienne Dulac, do you swear as a newly inducted member of the Order of the Phoenix to keep the secrets, plans and information discussed within these walls and with the other members?"

"I do." The first fiery strand of flame enveloped their hands, winding around them to the wrist as it joined them.

"Do you promise to keep secret the whereabouts of this Headquarters and the whereabouts of Order members at any given time?"

"I do." A second red flame snaked out of Severus' wand to bind their hands.

"And do you promise to endeavor to keep the members and the Wizarding world safe from those who would work as members of Lord Voldemort's sympathizers?"

"I do." And the third thread of light swirled around their joined hands, linking them and branding her as a member.

"Very well, my dear, I congratulate you as a newly established member of this very secret order," he said smiling as he rose again amid clapping and cheers from the other members.

***

Once they were happily ensconced back at Hogwarts, Severus and Vivienne wasted no time in getting into their own festivities. As soon as they reached her room, he spun around, flattening her against the door and crushing his mouth to hers until she whimpered longingly. "Happy Christmas, Severus," she whispered against him as his hands came up to cup her breasts before sweeping down to clasp onto her ample rump. He pressed his hardness into her, groaning.

"Oh but wait, I have a sort of...early present for you," he whispered into her ear. And wrenching himself away, he stepped through the flue before returning a moment later with a small bottle of a reddish liquid. She thought fleetingly of his own presents, a bottle of her favorite eau de cologne and a tin of strawberry tarts she had made him in all her Christmas baking. Then she remembered the one she was wearing and smiled, knowing he would unwrap it soon.

"What is this?" she said as he placed it on the bedside table.

"That, my pet, is for later," he said, unbuttoning his cuffs and sliding the frock coat down his shoulders before laying it on the chair. As she watched, Vivienne was seized with the desire to start peeling off her own layers.

"I have something for you too," she smiled coyly, reaching back for the zipper on her dress. As the simple black sheath slid to the floor, she had the satisfaction of seeing Severus slack-jawed as he took in the sight of her standing in a midriff baring peach-toned bustier and matching thong. The color, complemented by the firelight set her hair to flame and made the blue of her eyes much more striking. Still wearing her heels, she stepped over to him as he stood silently, his hand frozen at his belt buckle. Removing his hand she set to work herself as he backed to the bed. This time it was his knees that buckled as he fell, still dumbstruck at the sight of her as she stroked his chest and pulled his pants down from his bare feet. Smiling still, Vivienne stroked him once through his pants, cupping him for a moment as he let out a rapturous groan. Catching her at the waist, he flipped her over and raked his gaze down her body.

"God but you are a beautiful sight," he said mesmerized, as his hands stroked up and down her curves. Leaning in, he brought his mouth to hers, a slow melding of lips, sliding of tongues lapping lazily against each other. He pulled back, only an inch or so, before brushing lightly across her again, then dipping down to the hollow at her throat to suckle there. His hands stroked lower, straight to her hips as he ground himself fully against her and yanked the knickers down and freeing himself as well. Taking one hand on either of her legs he shoved them upwards, bending her knees and lowering his mouth to her nether lips, flicking his tongue across her labia and suckling at the moistness even as she sucked in a breath and let it out on a moan. "Ohhhh Severus...yes," she sighed. He turned his attention to her inner thigh, nipping and sucking against it as if she were one of the custard tarts, another delicacy to sate his palate. Abruptly, he left off to slide up and grab the bottle, uncorking it with his teeth, and pouring a smidgen on his palm, then rubbing his hands together. Again, Vivienne noticed a slight smell of cinnamon.

"So that's what you were brewing that day," she laughed. "What a naughty potions master. What is it?"

"A warming lubricant," he answered with a coy smile, then dipped two fingers between her legs and smiled brazenly. "Just wait for it." And with that, he began stroking in wide circles around her opening, dipping his fingers in and out, around again as the lubrication did its work. A simmering heat bloomed inside her and all over her sex where he spread the oil against her skin and she stifled another whimper as she longed for him to place his hands there again. He slid his hands under her, unhooking the bustier and tossing it aside, then brought his oiled fingers to her nipples, circling them with another drop of liquid before blowing them softly. "Mmmmm..." she moaned as her toes curled. Not to be undone just yet by her obvious arousal, Severus poured another dollop of oil on his palm and stroked lazily against his throbbing erection as he watched her start to writhe. "Severus, please," she begged, tracing one hand over her breast as the other began sliding in and out of her wetness. Watching her pleasure herself and unbelievably turned on by the spectacle, Severus kneeled between her legs as her movements became more frantic. Sliding his hands once again up her thighs, he cupped her bottom as she brought her feet to his shoulders. He brushed the tip of his shaft against the now swollen opening and poised himself there before slowly, deeply thrusting all the way in. "Oh _merde_! _Mon dieu_! Yes!" she groaned, arching up her hips as he pulled all the way out, stabbing again as she lifted her hips to meet his. Deep, deeper he thrust as she ground against him, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples while he watched completely immersed in her arousal at his ministrations. Pumping harder, faster, he swept them both up in a storm of half-gasped urgings and mangled cries as their blood sung, pulsing through her inner walls and his shaft, harder he pushed as she met him bucking, clamping her muscles around him and thrusting for all she had as they both felt they would rend in two, before they flew free in a blinding rush and he felt the tightening, then the snap of their control, lost completely, that left them shaken, panting.

Fully drained, Severus stayed inside her for a moment, as he lowered his mouth to her breasts, flicking a thumb over one even as he took the other in his mouth. Vivienne clasped a hand over his head as she wrapped her legs around his waist. After a moment he rose up, resting on one arm and looked down at her, his dark eyes pools of India ink.

"It is truly a fortunate thing that tonight is one of the longest of the year," he said, knowing that together they would greet the dawn.


	13. Chapter 13

XIII. Femmes fatales

The first Hogsmeade weekend in March found Tonks taking her turn at guarding Hogwarts, while Vivienne watched over the swarms of third to seventh year students who flocked to places like Zonko's, Honeydukes, and the Three Broomsticks. So it was that Vivienne gazed ominously at the students as they bought up a veritable barrage of Stink Pellets and Dungbombs (certain to be set off in the halls over the next several days), before she saw the children start trudging up the hill again to the castle that afternoon. Knowing their excursion was drawing to a close, she headed off to do one more round through the village before making her own exit through the Hog's Head Tavern to Floo back into Severus' study. Tonks, meanwhile, wound her way through the dungeons and rapped smartly on the door to Severus' study.

"Nymphadora?" Severus drawled, raising a quizzical eyebrow as he stepped aside to allow her in.

"Snape." Tonks nodded curtly, determined not to let his use of her first name deter her from her errand. "Well, this place hasn't changed a bit." She looked around at the office she had been summoned to numerous times during her tenure at Hogwarts.

"Yes, and I no longer have to concern myself with giving you detentions... so why are you here?" he said, still standing at the door.

"Vivienne. For one thing, she told me you helped her brew a fair powerful contraceptive draught and I'm nearly in need of one again myself. Second," she said, ticking off two fingers, "I want to know what's going on with you two." She stopped circling the room and stood to face him. Severus, meanwhile, closed the door smartly and crossed his arms.

"And what concern is that of yours?" he said dryly.

"She's a good friend, even though I haven't known her very long. I like her." Tonks crossed her arms, unconsciously mirroring Severus' stance. "I like her a lot actually, and I know that having that curse on her has been hard. But lately when she talks about you... it's different. She may not really like me saying this, but I'll do it for her own good. I think she quite fancies you now--for whatever reason--and I don't want her to get hurt." Tonks lifted her chin at that, as if in challenge.

"Talks about me does she?" Severus questioned, his eyes glittering. "As enchanting as it is, the thought of her confiding in you about anything having to do with me is f--"

At that a huge silver falcon swooped in and hovered in front of Tonks, "Three of them!" it said with Vivienne's voice, "at the Hog's Head! Hurry!"

***

Vivienne had entered the Hog's Head unobtrusively enough. Though she spied the Malfoy boy lingering in what she knew was not a pub the other students frequented, he appeared to have met up with his mother and another man she did not recognize. Deciding he was not up to any mischief, Vivienne had continued upstairs without giving it another thought. No sooner did she enter the upstairs room and step towards the flue, then she heard the door close softly again behind her. Swinging her wand in a swift arc, she slashed at whoever had followed her up, knowing intuitively that she should be on guard. She caught a brief glimpse of the three she had just witnessed downstairs before flinging an instinctive shield charm in front of her. The blonde witch simply laughed as Draco and the other man drew aside to flank her.

"And what do you want?" Vivienne had asked, never lowering her wand.

"Why you of course," the woman purred. Draco stood smirking as the man licked his lips and puckered them.

"What's wrong, _petite_? The curse not strong enough on you?" he said mockingly.

"Of course it is," snapped the blonde. "She should start fairly _shaking_ from desire any moment now. Before much longer she'll be too weak to fight it...and us off. Then we apparate her back to the Manor and...have our way." She threw her head back and laughed maniacally as Vivienne let out a furious roar and cast her patronus quickly, before flinging a stinging hex at the crazy witch, who deflected it with a mere flick of the wrist.

"You'll not touch me!" she exclaimed as they all three chuckled low.

"Now sweet, you have no choice," said the man. "You fight it much longer and you'll explode."

"I don't think you understand. I will not touch you filth! Not now, not ever. And I am damn sure not coming with you!" With that she began flinging hexes left and right, much to the chagrin of her tormentors who began blocking them. A well-placed stinging hex caught Draco finally, as he crumpled against the wall clutching his sides. "Get up, damn you!" shouted the man who flicked his wand at Vivienne screaming, "_crucio_!" Vivienne rebounded it at him as the woman abruptly stopped laughing.

"How dare you, you bitch! _Stupefy_!" She knew the spell was coming and deflected it, but the man aimed one at her as well, which caught her in the side and had her slamming back into the fireplace, landing on the floor in a heap.

At that moment, the fireplace erupted in green flames and emitted two red flashes of its own, stunning the blonde and the man both. Draco stood petrified for only a moment before bolting toward the door, as soon as he turned his back a third stunning spell caught him and he dropped as well.

"Well done, Snape, we've cleared the room," said Tonks as she stepped over Vivienne and began securing the assailants with ropes that shot from her wand. "How is she? Is she--"

"She's only stunned," he replied, kneeling down and checking Vivienne's pulse. "They would have wanted her just conscious enough to succumb to the temptations of the curse. They didn't want her dead, thankfully."

"Lucky for her, but not so much for them then," she smiled grimly, more than disgusted as what he was insinuating. "I'm summoning the other Aurors to take them in, and the Minister will want to know about this as well."

"Fine. I'll take her back then, while you get this cleared up. Best not to tell anyone I was here," he said, meeting her gaze when he lifted Vivienne effortlessly into his arms. "I don't believe Draco saw me."

"No, I suppose not," she muttered as she stepped over to the bodies, bound and trussed on the floor, and removed their wands. She turned back as the flames erupted from the hearth again, wondering at the deep look of concern she had seen etched over the lines of Snape's face. Shaking her head silently, Tonks touched her wand tip to her wrist, where a small tattoo of a wand emitting sparks suddenly burned a bright purple.

A few minutes later, Savage, Dawlish, and Proudfoot arrived to assist in the transport of prisoners and Tonks apprised them of the situation. Having assured them that she would file a report with Gawain Robards as soon as she checked on Vivienne, she Flooed directly back to Severus' study to find out where he had taken her. On entering, she noticed another door open to her left and hearing voices, followed the sounds back through what was apparently Severus' sitting room. Remembering what he had said though about her succumbing to temptation, Tonks worried at first that they may be in a rather compromising situation. Yet as she hovered in the room, she heard what sounded like running water and Snape using a more tender voice than ever she remembered hearing from him.

"We'll get you fixed right up, little one, good as new. I'll summon a house elf for a pot of tea, but you settle in here for a minute."

"This could not be the same greasy git who had me scrubbing cauldrons," Tonks thought to herself as he entered the room. Seeing her, he paused only for a moment before continuing through.

"How is she?" Tonks asked, following him to his potions stores.

"Spectacular," he said dryly before turning and seeing Tonks' face. Her usually pink hair had turned an ash brown and her face was nearly as sallow as his. Clearly, he thought, metamorphmagi couldn't hide their feelings from anyone.

"She is shaken," he amended, palming three small bottles from the shelves and pocketing them. "There was a gash and some bruising on her back, I assume from hitting the hearth, but she is not seriously injured. I have just drawn her a bath and presently shall give her a cup of tea laced with a generous helping of brandy. But she needs murtlap essence and dittany for the gash, and an arnica salve for the bruising."

"Very well. Since you have that in hand, I shall go to Dumbledore's office and notify him that I need to get in touch with Robards. We have to tell him what happened, but he will want to speak to Vivienne as well."

"I shall see to it that she is up there. Give her half an hour, perhaps." he said as he stood in the doorway to his sitting room.

"Fine," said Tonks as she headed to his office door. Turning back as she opened it, she met his eyes with a look of approval. "Snape? Thanks."

Severus simply nodded, and feeling that they understood each other, Tonks swept out of the room.

***

Severus allowed her as long a soak as he dared, before helping to haul her out of the bath. In addition to the brandy laced tea, he had gotten her to take a small vial of pain relieving potion before ushering her upstairs to Dumbledore's office where the headmaster, plus Robards, and Tonks were waiting. No sooner had he returned to his rooms to sort out the bottles and leftover tea, but his arm began its telltale twinge as the mark burned, calling him to his supposed master. Grimacing as he flexed his arm, Severus swept back out of the room and strode out to the castle gates to apparate at once.

Unbeknownst to Vivienne, he was being questioned himself even as she was. Little did she know, however, that she was the only one not being tortured for what she knew. Instead she sat calmly, having a second cup of tea as she told the head of the Auror office and Dumbledore what had happened. Robards informed her that the blonde woman, who at first appeared to have been Narcissa Malfoy, was merely Bellatrix Lestrange in disguise. The man, it seemed, was her husband, Rodolphus, who also had taken a measure of Polyjuice Potion. Only Draco, who was being charged as an accomplice, had kept his true form. They had come to Hogsmeade purely to attack Vivienne and then take her back to the Death Eaters' headquarters. They had not expected her to put up a fight, due to the nature of the curse, and were still perplexed as to how she fought it, not to mention being thoroughly vexed--on the Lestranges' part--at being tossed unceremoniously back into Azkaban. Draco, he related, was already crying for his real mother.

So it was, secure in this knowledge and the fact that Dawlish and Proudfoot would be added as extra security, Vivienne made her way downstairs to Severus' quarters expecting to thank him for helping earlier. Per his request, she had not mentioned his name, and Robards was under the impression that only she and Tonks had subdued the prisoners. Upon entering his bedroom, however, Vivienne sensed something was amiss. She didn't see or hear him anywhere, and noticing his wardrobe door ajar, she took a quick peek inside. The stirring in her gut intensified when she realized his Death Eater robes and mask were gone. _Mon dieu_, she thought, was this because of me? It was a full hour later, nearly three hours since she was accosted at the pub, that he all but stumbled through the door again.

"Severus!" she exclaimed, hurrying to help him to the edge of the bed. "What happened? You were summoned?"

Severus simply nodded, a sudden tremor belying everything he had endured while he was gone.

"Oh _la_, this is because of me, isn't it? What did he do?" she asked, helping him out of his cloak and frock coat.

"He didn't take the news lightly, that's what," Severus said wincing. "He uses the Cruciatus every bit as much for foul-ups as he does for victims."

"But you did nothing!"

"He believes in shooting the messenger. Ah!" he groaned aloud, unable to bite it back, when she tugged at one of his boots.

"I suppose it is my turn to offer you a bath and a pot of tea," she said going more gingerly on the other foot.

"All I want is about four fingers of firewhiskey and a Dreamless Sleep draught," he sighed, laying back on the bed.

"You know what I could do to ease your muscles..." Vivienne trailed off, regarding him contemplatively.

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Go on?"

"I could give you a massage with the analgesic balm I have in my first-aid stores."

"Massage, you say?" Both eyebrows nearly reached his hairline.

She smiled demurely. "Yes of course, it was something I picked up a few years ago...and have perfected since. I'll be right back, you just go ahead and strip down."

Vivienne turned away with a teasing wink as he groaned and huffed trying to adjust himself more comfortably on the bed. As she returned a moment later, Vivienne tapped the bed once with her wand, causing it to raise up to her waist so she could reach him better without leaning. Tapping it again, the mattress then narrowed to a size that she could maneuver around in order to get to every side of him easily.

"Now, just take a deep breath and try to relax," she said softly, smoothing some of the balm over both palms. Severus noted a few hints of clove and a trace of horsemint. Had he not been face down at the time, he may have managed an approving nod. As it was, he wondered slightly what the little minx had in store for him this time. Even as he wondered, she stroked both palms firmly down his back on either side of his spine, before sweeping up again to his shoulders causing him to moan deeply into the mattress. "Let me know if it hurts," she breathed. "I can stop if you say the word."

"Never," he moaned in sheer bliss as she rubbed strong circles up one side of his back with her fingertips. She repeated the circular movements several times before deftly pulling and stretching at the muscles, urging them to relax. Abandoning his back, Vivienne moved on to his arms using the same movements, stroking and gliding, then pressing circles and pulling. Coming down to his bum, she curled her hands into fists and began twisting her hands into the thick muscles there, causing the tension to slowly release. He twitched a bit at first to her contact, before breathing a deep sigh. She felt the tautness give, then moved on. For several minutes she worked his feet, pushing the pad of her thumb into the pressure points there before moving up his leg, massaging the length of his muscles as his breathing slowed and eased. Moving around the bed, Vivienne worked up the other leg, completing the procedure for the other side. As she finished with his back again, she worked ever higher, kneading the muscles of his neck and at the notch connecting his head to his spine. Working gentle circles there, Vivienne was surprised to hear a loud snore issue from his face, which was still buried in the bedding. Stifling the urge to giggle, she worked up through his soft, inky black hair, still massaging in small circles across his scalp before she quit work and stood, silently watching him sleep in peace.

Smiling a bit, noting how easy it was to get him to relax despite the traumas of the day, Vivienne did a simple switching charm to have him under the covers with them draped lightly on top before she stripped down and curled up next to him. She placed a soft kiss on his shoulder and closed her eyes, thankful that the next day was Sunday and she was relieved of her duties for the rest of the weekend.

***

She woke not very long after, with Severus curled around her, lazily stroking his hand up and down her side. "Mmmm," she said softly, arching like a cat into his hand. Severus pressed his lips to her head as she rolled over to face him. "Did you enjoy that?" she asked, smiling knowingly.

"Enough that I won't ask where you learned it nor how you perfected it," he said nonchalantly. He brought his other arm under her waist and cupped her bum to pull her closer to his hardening erection. Vivienne mirrored him, stroking her hands across his backside and bringing her lips to his. She flicked her tongue over his bottom lip as he rolled over on top of her, and traced his mouth down her cheek to the soft part just behind her ear. Vivienne sighed quietly as his hands began to roam her body slowly, as if discovering it for the first time. She lifted her fingertips to his back, swirling them up and down in lazy circles as he bumped his hips gently against her, a slight nudge, before stroking his hands down to her hips. They took their time, exploring each other, savoring each other, in the dim light of the smoldering fire. Severus dipped his mouth to her breast, laving a nipple, nipping it lightly, suckling gently. Vivienne slid her legs up alongside his, tracing her foot up the back of his thigh while she ran her hands over his strong shoulders.

When at last he took her, Severus filled her in one stroke, sliding smoothly into her moist glove as they began to move in tandem. She bowed up, grinding slowly against his deliberate, deep thrusts as he drew her hands up to either side of her head, linking his fingers in hers. They melded together, gliding leisurely toward the same goal, moaning and sighing softly as one, urging each other on as they came. He swallowed her cry, covering her mouth with his as he let himself go with her, plunging them both off the edge of that velvet cliff, tumbling into ecstasy together as she wept from the power of it.

Severus nibbled softly at her bottom lip, brushed her hair off her face with his fingertips, and eased himself out of her. "Vivienne, my Vivienne," he whispered, rolling to the side and pulling her to face him. She opened her eyes to see him watching her intently, his face awash with emotion. "I love you, little one."

"I love you too, Severus," she whispered back. Pressing her lips once more to his, she sighed contentedly as he pulled her closer, and they finally dropped off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

XIV. International Magical Cooperation

Later that morning, Severus and Vivienne met with Dumbledore in his office, not only to go over what had happened the day before in the Hog's Head, but also to see what information Severus had obtained while at the Death Eaters' hideout. Vivienne listened intently as Severus warned Dumbledore of plans to assassinate Scrimgeour and install Pius Thicknesse, who had been Imperiused, as the new Minister. He glossed over the torture he had received, simply stating that Voldemort had been none too pleased at the news that three of his Death Eaters had been apprehended. As his story drew to a close and their eyes turned to her, Vivienne found herself not wanting to relive those moments from the day before. So mad was she that Severus had to suffer for what dregs of information he could bring back, that people like Bellatrix Lestrange should find acceptance and even revelry among peers who were as barmy as she, or that their entire philosophy condemned the lives of millions of people simply for an incidence of birth, that she could not sit still any longer. Standing abruptly, Vivienne strode over to the fireplace, wringing her hands at the madness of it all. And wondering... As quickly as she could, she rattled off the story again.

"I see," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. Vivienne spared a glance at Severus, who smiled thinly as he reached for her hand to comfort the obviously distraught witch. "Then I suppose I should congratulate you both. It appears your curse is broken, my dear."

The two glanced somewhat sheepishly back at the old wizard before looking back at each other, the truth plainly evident on their faces. Remembering the idea that had been plaguing her a moment before though, Vivienne frowned again.

"Dumbledore," she began, thinking out loud, "I am fully aware how you feel regarding anything of dark origins in magic. But why have you or the Ministry never considered or attempted to bind his magic? Or draw it out of him, even if it meant going against his will? He, the ringleader of this sick pack of dogs? Were we to make an example of him, drain him of every ounce of black magic he could produce, the rest would be easier to round up, would they not?"

Severus simply stared at her for a moment, "what magic is this? How in the world would we begin--"

"This has only been done once before. It's a very old magic, Severus," Dumbledore said, still gazing intently at Vivienne, "but one that would require him to be cornered as it were. We would, in effect, have to know his whereabouts, and though Severus knows, there is a Fidelius Charm upon the place. He cannot tell us."

Severus looked despondently back at Vivienne before she uttered a shocked gasp. "But that is--she did say--that is...is he not at the Manor? The Malfoy's manor house?"

Severus started, standing bolt upright and looking completely aghast. "By god woman! She told you?"

"That is where she said they were taking me. 'Back to the Manor.' Is he not there?"

"Yes," he said lamely, "yes, he is. She must have been his Secret Keeper. Why in the world would he do such a thing? He, who trusts no one."

Dumbledore, rose, looking triumphant as he strode over to the fireplace. "No matter why he did it, foolish as it was. Apparently he mistook her utter slavish devotion for a lack of arrogance. But the thing can be done. Severus! Who is at residence there at this time?"

"Er, besides the Dark Lord... Pettigrew, Dolohov, and Narcissa."

"And the protection he has about the place?"

"Now that the Fidelius Charm is broken, merely an anti-apparition spell, anti-portus spell, and a magic detection spell at a radius of a kilometer out."

Dumbledore rested a hand on the mantle as he gazed into the fire. "Then they would not be able to leave by portkey...unless he lowers the enchantments himself, which would buy us time. We will have to use an anti-disapparition spell as well and go in already in position. Likewise, we shall have to prepare to be bombarded when he summons any Death Eaters to fight when he detects us moving in... We will need a rather large stone..."

At this point he was merely thinking to himself, yet he turned to face the two still seated, a light of jubilance upon his face. Fawkes gave a trill of song as he turned back and leaned in, tossing a handful of Floo powder into the fire.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley. If you would be so kind as to inform Rufus that I would like to speak with he and Gawain Robards," Dumbledore said, his head appearing as though it were engulfed in green flame. "I believe I have a way that at last we may work together on a rather important matter. Thank you."

With that, he pulled his head back out of the flames and brushed himself off before settling again behind his desk and conjuring two more chairs. Within minutes, the flames erupted again to emit both Rufus Scrimgeour and Gawain Robards. Dumbledore wasted no time in apprising them of the situation and their tentative plan. Both men sat for a moment in contemplative silence.

"We will need to disconnect the Floo network from the manor, of course, and I should like to see if the French ministry can afford us any more Aurors," said Scrimgeour thoughtfully. Yet already his face was set determinedly and alight with what Vivienne was sure he felt was imminent victory. "If there is nothing else I may help with, gentlemen, lady, I will get back to the office. Robards, I shall remain there this evening and expect you or a senior Auror to brief me as soon as you can."

"I will get on that, and round up all our Aurors and brief them as to the plan. Dulac, if you would, perhaps contact your Ministry and see what other reinforcements, if any, they may part with for this evening."

"Of course, sir. If I may, my father is now retired, but he would certainly help out if need be."

Robards nodded curtly. "We shall need all hands. Make he and any others aware that we will rendezvous one kilometer south from Malfoy Manor at approximately seven-thirty this evening. I shall send young Weatherby through the Floo with appropriate maps to aid in apparition." He nodded once more before striding stone-faced back through the fireplace.

***

Throughout the rest of the morning, preparations were well underway. In addition to two more visits from Robards and Scrimgeour to iron out the final plans, Vivienne was pleasantly surprised when her father Flooed back through with her after she came to ask for his help. He secured two more old Auror friends of his, Louis Blriot and Bernard Clairvaux to assist. She was surprised further still when Severus greeted him.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Dulac, je vous en prie," said Severus, striding forward to shake hands as Vivienne sputtered behind him.

"Moi aussi. Guillaume Dulac, s'il vous plat. Severus, non?" said Vivienne's father, smiling at the man he had heard so much about.

"Tu parles franais?" she asked incredulously, looking from her father back to Severus.

"Mais, bien sur," said Severus with a smug grin. "Je travaille avec Albus Dumbledore. Il parle des centaines des langues. J'ai d apprendre quelque chose."

Vivienne could scarcely contain the urge to stamp her foot in frustration at the number of times he had harassed her about lapsing into French. Before she could make a retort, however, Severus and Guillaume Dulac were well into a spirited conversation.

***

It was nearing sundown hours later, that Vivienne, Tonks, Severus--who had been entrusted with Gryffindor's sword-- and Dumbledore walked across the school grounds in the fading light. Dumbledore had entrusted Minerva with running the school for the rest of the evening and had stationed Molly, Percy, Bill and Charlie around the castle and within Hogsmeade as an extra precaution. As soon as Dumbledore's group exited the gates, they were met by Proudfoot and Dawlish, and together they all apparated to the rally point. The game was officially afoot.

Hagrid and Grawp, both unable to apparate, traveled by portkey to the location. Grawp had been entrusted to carry a rather large boulder made of gneiss, specifically because of its porous qualities. It was the stone which would absorb the magic and, as it was earthen, would help to neutralize some of the darkness. No sooner did they all arrive just outside the one kilometer mark then they found Robards already instructing a large group of where exactly to apparate. The rest of the Aurors and Order members, plus a Hit Wizard, Alastor Gumboil, were to surround the four main wizards needed for the spell. As soon as he made the assignments, Dumbledore addressed the crowd, as he and the other officials had decided it best to show solidarity through the mission.

"Thank you all for coming and supporting each other in this endeavor," he said, as the men and women fell silent. "It is absolutely imperative that we proceed as thus: myself, along with Arthur, Lupin, and Dawlish, will apparate to the northernmost point, followed by Kingsley at the east, Moody at the south, followed by Severus at the west. All of them have been familiarized with the spell and will proceed through it no matter what else goes on. It is of the utmost importance that they be protected until the deed is done. Once finished, should they need to assist as well, they will do so. You should be prepared almost as soon as we apparate in to be inundated from behind with Death Eaters, as he will most certainly summon them to his side once he realizes what we're about. I will be placing an anti-disapparation and anti-portus spell each on the grounds within the one kilometer radius before we fly in. He will not be able to leave, and will likely lower the enchantments to allow the Death Eaters to move in--which will allow us access as well--yet as soon as the other spells have taken effect his magic will be extracted and he will no longer pose a threat. Worse will be his men come to defend him, and that is where you all come in. Given the wide scope of the circle, to help us close ranks, the house elves of Hogwarts have endeavored to join us. As there are hundreds of them ready to fight, that should suffice. We start as one, one kilometer out, and move in as one toward the apex. Are there any questions before I continue?"

Silence, a few headshakes.

"Now, once I give the signal, we fly in. Everyone has a broomstick?" All those present nodded or raised them above their heads. "He will surely be lowering the enchantments to allow himself out as we come in once he realizes he cannot apparate away, so be ready to hop on and ride to your destinations. By the time he can, however, it will be too late."

Vivienne wondered briefly what Voldemort was doing at that moment, completely unaware of the group that was readying themselves for a stand so close by. With a wave of his hand though, Dumbledore urged the groups to split according to who was going to be guarding which member of the circle. She moved to flank Kingsley with Proudfoot, Tonks, and Williamson while other Aurors and Order members stood with Dumbledore, Moody, and Severus. Any others remaining would be filling out the circle as they all apparated to their destinations. For a few tense minutes after they arrived at the spot, all she could hear was their breathing as they all stood with their brooms hovering, watching the sun's last rays sliding down in the west. All of a sudden, red sparks flew in the air to the north and they launched themselves onto their brooms, streaking toward the Malfoy estate. The foursome dismounted quickly, tossing their brooms aside as Kingsley took his position, wand raised. Vivienne and the others fanned out beside him and could now hear Dumbledore's voice off to the right. She raised an eyebrow, ready for anything, as a set of curtains twitched at the second floor window.

Dumbledore raised his wand, holding both arms above his head. "_Extrahe_!" he commanded, raising his hands even further into the air as if conducting a symphony. A great black mass, as a dense mist with a single swirl of gray, rose up above the white stone manor. The earth under their very feet began to tremor as wizards began apparating in. Suddenly house elves swarmed around them, seemingly out of nowhere, separating the circle from the intruders, Grawp let out an almighty roar as he dropped the boulder near the center of the circle and began swinging his huge arms, knocking aside Death Eaters left and right. It appeared Voldemort had lost his chance to fight by lowering the enchantments to allow his reinforcements in. His magic was coursing through the air above the house. "_Transfere_!" screamed Shacklebolt, directing the mist with his wand toward the boulder, which cracked as Yaxley rushed toward the circle, only to be fended off by a very sober Winky. With a snap of her fingers he was hoisted into the air and his wand swooped into her tiny hand. "You is a bad bad wizard!" she said, conjuring a cane branch and swiping at him like a piata. Vivienne watched tensely as part of the circle while around her Aurors and Death Eaters alike slashed and flicked, hurling curse and countercurse. Dawlish and Williamson rushed by to aid Proudfoot, who was fighting three at once. One, a huge blond wizard, was lifted off his feet by the force of a curse as she saw her father run past, taking him out from behind. A flash of green caught her peripheral vision as she saw Greyback fall to the ground at Gumboil's feet.

Meanwhile, the mass was swirling, funneling over to the stone and seeping into it. The fight continued in earnest all about the four wizards as Vivienne, sensing the need for more diversion, spun, siphoning the water from a nearby pond with a flick of her wrist. "_Gelare_!" she shouted as with another flick, the streams of water hardened to blades of ice the size of stalagmites and sung through the air toward each Death Eater. Behind her the last dregs of the murky mist leaked into the boulder, turning it black as Moody shouted, "_cape_!" the fissure in the stone closed. Finally, Severus raised the blade, slicing into the scarred rock exclaiming, "_obsigna_!" In unison the four of them shouted, "_in persona nobilis et fidelis_!" At their words the stone and sword glowed gold, fully defusing the evil enclosed there and sealing it in before the fissure around the sword closed, trapping it solidly. He gave one tug, then nodded resolutely. It was stuck fast, as was the magic contained therein. With that, he and the other members of the circle spun on the spot and joined the fray.

* * *

Notes:

_Guillaume is the French equivalent to William. I named Vivienne's father after William the Conqueror (of Normandy). Louis Blriot was the first airman to cross the English channel, and Bernard Clairvaux was a monk/soldier who led the second Crusade. Now for the translations:_

_"Bonjour, Monsieur Dulac, je vous en prie."_ = Hello, Mr. Dulac, it's a pleasure/pleased to meet you

_"Moi aussi. Guillaume Dulac, s'il vous plat. Severus, non?"_ = And I as well. William Dulac (_of the lake_, if you must have it all translated), please. Severus, right?

_"Tu parles franais?"_ = You speak French?

"_Mais, bien sur. Je travaille avec Albus Dumbledore. Il parle des centaines des langues. J'ai d apprendre quelque chose._" = Of course. I work with Albus Dumbledore. He speaks hundreds of languages. I had to learn something.


	15. Chapter 15

XV. Le fin est le commencement

"You would do well to surrender now," stormed Dumbledore, trapping three Death Eaters by forcing a tree to wrap its branches around them, "your master has had his magic bound and is as good as fallen!"

As it happened, some did very well surrender at once. This was helped along by the fact that no sooner had he spoken, then Voldemort himself exited the manor house. Much to everyone's surprise, his apparent snakelike appearance had gone. In its place was the frail form of what once must have been a handsome man, now aged considerably and hunched over. His face was lined and tired, his eyes--no longer red, but a somber brown--were grim with bitter defeat. He was followed by Narcissa Malfoy, a man Vivienne recognized as Antonin Dolohov, and the stooped figure of Peter Pettigrew who was clutching a stump where his hand used to be. Immediately upon seeing this, numerous Death Eaters disapparated in a series of pops around the grounds and those who remained tossed down their wands in surrender. A few began blinking and looking around as though they had just awakened from a very bad dream. Clearly they felt it best to claim to have been Imperiused. Vivienne narrowed her eyes at the one closest to her and poked her wand into his neck, watching the vein pulse rapidly as he eyed her.

"_Connerie_," she said, recognizing him at once as Augustus Rookwood. "You're going straight _back_ to Azkaban, you great ugly troll."

With that, she disarmed him with a flick and in a trice had him bound and ready for transport straight to the dementors. Within the hour, all the prisoners were restrained and transported to Azkaban--Voldemort among them--while the Order members had disapparated straight back to Grimmauld Place to congratulate Sirius on his imminent pardon. Vivienne turned from the last group of Aurors as they disappeared with their prisoners using an old soda can for a portkey, only to find Severus still standing there watching her.

"I thought you would have gone," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"For what?" he replied derisively. "To congratulate Black on finally moving out of his mum's house again?"

Vivienne smiled as she took his hand. "No, to be congratulated for helping bring down the darkest wizard of our age. You should be happy, you'll have the Order of Merlin at last. Everyone who was not an Auror or Hit Wizard should, and maybe even us as well, I'm not sure. Robards was saying there'll be a huge ceremony for it."

"And what will you do," he wondered, coming at last to the thing he had been dreading as they walked away from the house. "Will you return to France?"

"Robards actually offered me a permanent position. Any of the Death Eaters at large will have to be rounded up of course."

"And did you accept?"

Vivienne smiled. "I saw no reason why I shouldn't...and any number of reasons why I should."

Severus looked suddenly shy at that, and paused as they walked past the pond she had returned to its normal state. He looked on contemplatively as several white peacocks strutted about, but seemed as though he was at a loss for words.

"I am glad," he said at length.

"Good. I shall need someone to come home to," she said, taking his other hand. He looked down at her, startled, before she continued. "Yes, Severus, I want to continue as we are. And yet, I want more as well. I want to know that you will always be there. I want you to marry me, Severus."

Never had she seen him so confounded. Severus actually gasped aloud. "I know it is incredibly forward, darling, but will you?"

"Of course," he said, completely dumbstruck. "Yes. Of course."

"_C'est merveilleux_!" she said laughing at his utter lack of composure. "I wondered what it would take to catch you off guard. Now, what do you say we go crash the party and announce it to the Order?"

At the thought of stealing Sirius' thunder, Severus snapped back to himself with a sly smile. Holding out his arm so they could apparate together, he said simply, "let's."

***

As it happened, many things changed from that moment forward. Sirius felt no more outshined at the announcement but appeared nearly as baffled as Severus at first. Then, in a landmark display of good humor, he stuck out a hand and praised his longtime nemesis. Severus was almost completely bowled over at that, but the job was thoroughly done when Harry Potter thanked him for all he had done and offered his own congratulations to boot. Knowing now, fully, that not only had Severus helped to bring down Voldemort, but that he was also fully capable of falling in love, Potter had no recourse but to concede that he had been wrong for years. Severus, meanwhile, looked around the kitchen as he realized that his harsh, dark wizard's faade had finally fallen. Time and again, people came up to shake hands, clap a hand on his back, hug, or simply say, "thank you." Vivienne watched on, as her man, her lover, had what he deserved at last. At the outpouring of affection, the icy veneer had melted and everyone could now see what she had sensed even from the first time they met. Severus Snape was a good man. And he smiled.

Over the next several months, calm and order settled over the Wizarding world. After six months, Draco Malfoy was released from prison and moved with his mother to Lucius' boyhood home in the Cotswolds where no one heard a peep from them again. Narcissa, Peter Pettigrew, and Antonin Dolohov had all been leeched of their magical abilities as well, and while Narcissa now had to assimilate into her new life as a Squib, Pettigrew, Dolohov and the now diminutive Tom Riddle wasted away in Azkaban, entirely too weak to resist the dementors they could no longer see.

Owing to the fact that Pettigrew was discovered alive, he faced several life sentences to Azkaban for not only aiding in Riddle's second rise to power, but also for framing Sirius and killing any number of Muggles in the process. Due to the testimonies of Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Lupin, Sirius did in fact receive a full pardon and thanks to Dumbledore's account he was awarded the Order of Merlin, second class for his assistance in the first war. His first order of business was to renovate his house, after finally making peace with his house elf, and then to begin penning a memoir of his life in Azkaban.

Severus and Lupin both received the Order of Merlin, first class, for their assistance in bringing down Riddle. In fact, because of Lupin's involvement, in addition to Hagrid, Grawp, and the house elves, many inroads were made in the name of better relations with other magical creatures. The biggest achievement of all was when St. Mungo's got wind, via Dumbledore of course, that Severus had perfected the Wolfsbane potion. They had any number of healers trained to make the potion and immediately began to administer it once a month to any known werewolves so they could begin leading a more normal life. As a result, their acceptance in wizarding society reached an all-time high.

Once done, Severus settled back into routine again at Hogwarts, finally enjoying the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, now that the curse was broken.

Lupin and Lee Jordan eventually started their own show called "The Wolf Man's Hour" on the wizarding radio station, and Harry Potter himself finally discovered what it was like to blend in, finding himself perfectly content to be forgotten by those who had once called him The Boy Who Lived.


End file.
